MLB

Hughes, Humber cross pitching paths again

In the span of a few hours yesterday, the lives of Philip Humber and Philip Hughes intersected once again.

In the 2004 draft, Humber was picked third overall by the Mets. Detroit took Justin Verlander just before him, Tampa Bay took Humber’s Rice teammate, Jeff Niemann, just after him — and 20 selections later the Yankees took a California high-schooler: Hughes.

After the 2007 season, the Yankees toyed with obtaining Minnesota’s Johan Santana, but refused to part with Hughes. Once the Yankees and Red Sox bowed out, the Twins had just one option, the Mets, who put together a four-prospect package that included Humber.

The Mets decided they needed Santana because they had blown a seven-game lead with 17 games remaining to the Phillies, in large part, because their rotation was in disarray late; it was so bad, in fact, they had to give Humber his one and only Mets start with five games left in the season. He was bombed for five runs in four innings. That was the lowlight in a Mets career that included what is still the second-largest bonus the organization has ever given an amateur and also Tommy John surgery.

Humber drifted from the Twins to the Royals to the Athletics to the White Sox, for whom he had his best professional day on what just might have been Hughes’ worst.

Humber, who had never worked beyond six innings in five previous major league starts, held the Yankees hitless for 6 1/3 innings en route to seven one-hit innings. In a 2-0 White Sox victory, Humber threw 100 pitches to confound the Yankees.

Hughes also confounded the Yankees earlier in the day — in just 20 pitches. He cut a bullpen session off at that point because his arm still felt lifeless, his pitches lacked zip. The Yankees had thought Hughes was on the right path, would go for a rehab start Thursday and, perhaps, rejoin the rotation soon after that.

Instead, he will go to Columbia Presbyterian this morning for an MRI exam of his right shoulder and elbow. He insists even now there is no pain, just more of a charley horse sensation in his arm. However, manager Joe Girardi and pitching coach Larry Rothschild, who have spent a lifetime around pitchers, cannot recall one of them losing their heat for as long and as consistently as Hughes without there being an underlying injury.

The Bronx Zoo found its missing snake, but the Bronx baseball team is still trying to locate where Hughes’ fastball went.

“I want to get these tests and see what is going on,” Hughes said.

So Hughes braced for an uneasy day in one clubhouse while Humber reveled in a joyous night down the hall.

In this Tale of Two Philips, you see the fickle nature of pitching, specifically young pitching. Humber, once a can’t-miss prospect, finally had his big day in the majors at 29. Hughes, 24, has deteriorated from a 2010 All-Star to the biggest concern on the Yankees.

The Yankees already knew that the rotation was their biggest worry entering the year — and that was when they privately believed Hughes would grow into a No. 2 starter.

For now the Yankees are surviving because Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia are partying like it’s 1999, or at least pitching as if transported to that time. But what is the likelihood both will continue at a high level or even, quite frankly, simply continue? There is a lot of mileage and injury history on their arms. Do you think they will combine for 20 starts? 30? What are the staggering odds against 60?

Does a solid April make you believe in A.J. Burnett? Will Ivan Nova quickly learn to navigate a lineup multiple times? Is a youngster (Adam Warren?) ready to help? Is there a trade to be made?

And if you hadn’t noticed, the Red Sox and Rays have recovered from pathetic openings on the arms of wonderful starting pitching, which was their anticipated AL East edge over the Yankees heading into this campaign. That was back when Hughes was a No. 2 starter in waiting, not a No. 1 problem.

By the end of last night, the Yanks certainly had their Phil of pitching problems.

joel.sherman@nypost.com