Phil Hughes, who was scheduled to take the ball in the afternoon half of today’s doubleheader, will not make his start. Back spasms already pushed him back from Monday to Wednesday. There is no word on whether he will make another start this season. In his stead, Hector Noesi will take the mound. Joe Girardi said that Noesi can throw 50 to 60 pitches if all goes well.
Noesi has made just five starts this season, all coming at AAA Scranton. His latest came on August 31st, though he threw only three innings (two hits, four strikeouts, no runs or walks). Since then he has thrown 5.1 innings, all in relief. He hasn’t thrown more than three innings since July 22nd, and hasn’t thrown 60 pitches since his six-inning outing against Boston on June 7th.
CC Sabathia is still on schedule to start the night game.