Luis Gil keeps Red Sox bats quiet in Yankees' 4-0 victory
BOSTON — Hours before the Yankees faced the Red Sox for the first time this season, Aaron Boone was asked if he thought his series-opening starter, Luis Gil, had been thinking about his uncertain job security. “I think [Luis is] in the moment, and knows he’s got another big start tonight,” the Yankees manager said, adding that Gil is focused on what’s in front of him. “He expects to do well when he walks out there, and I think that’s where his focus is.
” Gil did, in fact, do well on Tuesday, tallying two hits, three walks, two strikeouts and 83 pitches over 6 1/3 scoreless innings in the Yankees’ 4-0 win. Giancarlo Stanton provided most of the offense for the Bombers, first crushing a second-inning solo homer that dinged off the left field light tower that stands atop The Green Monster. The slugger added a two-run double off the oversized wall in the sixth inning.
Gil, meanwhile, enjoyed better results than the ones he got in his first two starts of the season, which saw him surrender seven earned runs over nine innings. The righty didn’t exactly rediscover his electric, 2024 Rookie of the Year form at Fenway, though, as his four-seam fastball averaged 93. 6 mph, a 1.
8-mph decrease, on Tuesday. His slider was down 3. 6 mph, and he only yielded four whiffs with his change-up and sinker also lacking zip.
Gil’s command issues popped up at the end as well, as he walked the last two batters he faced. Keep in mind, he also threw to a Red Sox lineup that entered the game 23rd in runs scored and 24th in wRC+. Nonetheless, Gil, who has been working on his release point and delivery since camp, will take the scoreless outing after some spring training struggles, a season-opening assignment to Triple-A and a pair of forgettable starts.