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McGowan, Hughes to square off at Yankee Stadium

Apr 3, 2008 - 4:18 PM Toronto (1-1) at NY Yankees (1-1) 7:05 pm EDT

BRONX, New York (Ticker) - If the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays are going to contend this season, they will need significant contributions from young starters.

A pair of young arms will be on display Thursday when the Blue Jays visit the Yankees in the finale of a three-game set.

Each team used veteran starters to pick up early wins, with Chien-Ming Wang topping Roy Halladay in the opener and A.J. Burnett getting the better of Mike Mussina in the second game on Wednesday.

On Thursday, Toronto will start 26-year-old Dustin McGowan, who dominated the American League East upon being moved into the starting rotation last season.

The righthander allowed just a .230 batting average while striking out 144 in 169 2/3 innings over 27 starts.

McGowan made four starts against New York last season, allowing four earned runs over 14 2/3 innings in the first two meetings. He allowed 10 earned runs, however, over 9 1/3 in his final two starts against the division rivals.

Hughes was one of the most highly touted prospects in the game when he made his debut last season and carried a no hitter into the seventh inning of his second start before injuring his hamstring and missing the next three months.

He was strong down the stretch, going 3-0 with a 2.73 ERA in his final five starts and allowing one run in 5 2/3 innings of relief in the American League Division Series.