Just over two weeks ago, Luis Gil had a 2.03 ERA and was in the conversation to head to Arlington, Texas for the All-Star Game later this month.
Then came an implosion against the Orioles, when the right-hander allowed seven runs, while retiring just four batters.
And instead of quieting fears in his next outing, the 26-year-old then got pounded by the Mets at Citi Field, when he gave up five runs in 4 ¹/₃ innings.
Aaron Boone acknowledged there was “a little bit” of thought to either pushing back Gil’s next start or skipping it entirely.
Instead, Gil will look to right himself Tuesday against the Reds in The Bronx.
Boone said the team believes Gil is in a “pretty good spot” physically and will already be pitching with an extra day’s rest for a third straight outing, due to the team’s off days.
Gil could get some added rest around the All-Star break, according to Boone, but the manager attributed the recent struggles to “a couple rough outings that I don’t think is necessarily the result of anything physical.”
The question remains, then, what has changed?
For one thing, there was the inevitable adjustment from opposing hitters, now that Gil has more innings under his belt.
”I think there’s probably a little bit of that,” Boone said. “But I think it’s also [that] he hasn’t executed like he [had been]. I don’t know if that’s how the ball’s come out, release points, things like that, mechanically. Frankly, [it’s] just a young pitcher going through some ebbs and flows where it hasn’t been as dominant. Hopefully we get him synced up mechanically and within his delivery that puts him in a good spot this next turn.”
One American League scout that has seen multiple Gil starts in the majors said fatigue is almost certainly a factor in the drop-off.
“He’s not getting as many swing-and-misses and obviously the strikeouts are down, so it’s a combination of things,’’ the scout said. “I know they’ve already talked about [putting] him in the bullpen. I wouldn’t do that yet, because then you’ll make it difficult for him to give you innings [as a starter] in the second half. Maybe down the stretch.”
Gil has never pitched in relief in the majors and all but three of his appearances in the Yankees’ minor league system came as a starter.
Boone said this rough patch hasn’t been entirely unexpected.
“For as dominant as he’s been to start the year, having a couple rough ones like this is unfortunately sometimes part of the learning curve,’’ Boone said. “But that’s what it is. It’s a tough league. There’s things to learn and go through and some painful moments, but that’s part of it. The hope is you learn [by] going through it and taking your lumps at times, that allow you to push through and make you even better on the other side.”
— Additional reporting by Greg Joyce
