Luis Gil was a revelation for the Yankees this season. Not only is the rookie arguably the team’s best pitcher, but he has filled in for the injured top player more than admirably. Gerrit Kool.
However, the 26-year-old had the worst start of his career on Thursday when the Baltimore Orioles hit him for a career-high seven runs in 1.1 innings pitched. The Yankees would drop the series after their 17-5 loss.
“You don’t expect that, but that’s part of it. It’s baseball, it happens. Not his day,” manager Aaron Boone said after the game. “They came out very aggressive on the fastball in the first inning. … They had a plan to go after the fastball, took it away and were on top of it today. And obviously not his day.”
“They have a very good line-up,” Gil said through an interpreter after his start. “There are good days and bad days. And today was definitely not my best. I felt like I let the team down today. We have more games ahead of us and I am confident we can turn the page. this one and I believe in myself and my teammates.”
Gil’s start on Thursday lowered his record to 9-2 and increased his ERA from 2.03 to 2.77. But overall, Gil has been great for the Yanks, and this is a big reason why New York has the best record in the American League (51-26).
Unfortunately, the Orioles are chasing them for the AL East lead. After Thursday’s game, the Orioles are just 0.5 games behind the Yankees and have a 5-2 record against them this season after going 3-for-4 in Baltimore earlier this year.
“He’s in the middle of a great year and this doesn’t change that,” Boone said of Gil. “It’s a bump in the road. It’s always an opportunity to learn and grow from… That reminder that sometimes, especially when you’re at the top of your game, this game gets to you. It’s a humbling game. We will Learn from this, he will learn from this.”
The young right-hander echoed his manager’s sentiments and is ready to learn from the experience.
“I’ve missed pitches that they haven’t missed and I’ve taken advantage of that. It’s definitely a learning experience,” Gil said. “Tomorrow I’m going to sit down and go over the video and everything I need to watch so I can make any necessary adjustments and be ready for the next one.”
Thursday wasn’t the first time Gil has faced this Orioles team this season. On May 1, Gil threw 6.1 scoreless innings, giving up only two hits. When asked if he felt like Baltimore adjusted to him this time, Gil blamed his lack of execution as the reason for the loss.
“It’s a game of adjustments. To be honest, there are some fields where I wanted to be better,” Gil said. “Better situated, better executed, but like I said, we have a new week next week and I will work to improve it.”
Both Gil and Boone say it wasn’t a fatigue or physical issue Thursday – this is the most innings Gil has thrown at the Major League level – but as the Yankee skipper said, Gil is still a work in progress.
After back-to-back series losses, the Yankees will host the Atlanta Braves for a three-game set this weekend.
Gil is lined up to pitch against the Mets or Toronto Blue Jays next week. He’ll have to wait until then to get back on track for what could be a Rookie of the Year campaign.
