Before the Yankees lost a 3-0 game to the Red Sox on Sunday night, Aaron Boone issued a reminder.
“This is a very raw pitcher in his baseball life and career,” the manager said of Luis Gil.
The 26-year-old’s last five starts made that clear, as Gil registered an 8.85 ERA while allowing 23 hits, 20 earned runs, 14 walks and 17 strikeouts over 20.1 innings from June 9 to July 2. That stretch followed a seven-start streak that had the righty dominating like no other Yankees pitcher has this season.
From May 1 to June 4, Gil went 7-0 while totaling 15 hits, three earned runs, 15 walks and 50 strikeouts over 44.2 innings. With a 0.60 ERA over that span and a 1.82 mark overall at the end of it, Gil looked like a candidate to start the All-Star game.
Then his delivery got out of whack, hindering his control and his high-90s fastball as his ERA rose to 3.41. When All-Star rosters were announced early Sunday evening, Gil’s name was nowhere to be found before his 18th start of the year.
“To some degree, [he’s] very much still figuring it out here at the big league level,” Boone continued, noting that Gil was far from a finished product before returning from Tommy John surgery this season. “Now, he had a two-month run where he showed you what he can be and what we believe he can be. But we’re also seeing some of the growing pains of a young pitcher finding his way and figuring it out.”
On Sunday, Gil figured out the Red Sox, returning to form at Yankee Stadium.
The flamethrower fanned nine Boston hitters and allowed one earned run over 6.2 scoreless innings and 96 pitches. With zero walks issued, concerns over command and fatigue subsided, if only for a night.
The only run Gil permitted came after Boone decided to send the hurler out for the seventh despite having a rested bullpen. One batter later, Yankees killer Rafael Devers broke a scoreless tie with a solo home run to left field.
That would have been enough for Boston, as the Yankees never crossed the plate. However, Ceddanne Rafaela added his own solo homer off of Luke Weaver in the eighth before Devers crushed a second solo blast in the ninth.
Prior to Sunday, Devers had hit .426/.541/.787 with five home runs and 13 RBI in his last 14 games against the Yankees. That included a long ball and two RBI on Saturday.
While Devers kept tormenting the Yankees, Kutter Crawford had them looking lifeless, blanking the Bombers for seven innings after they scored 14 runs the day before. The right-hander pitched with extreme efficiency, throwing just 68 pitches.
Crawford also tallied four hits, zero walks and four strikeouts.
The Yankees had a few chances to score, but DJ LeMahieu grounded into a double play in the third inning. A leadoff double from Juan Soto also went to waste following Devers’ first dinger.
The Yankees went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position, spoiling Gil’s best start in weeks.
Now 55-37, the second-place Yankees have lost 16 of their last 22 games. They have failed to win seven straight series.
With a disappointing home stand over, the Yanks have to face two more American League East opponents before the All-Star break. Following a Monday off day, the team will play three games in Tampa before closing out the first half with a three-game set against the first-place Orioles.