Just over two weeks ago, Luis Gil was posting a 2.03 ERA and was on the radar as a candidate heading into the All-Star Game later this month in Arlington, Texas.
Then, against the Orioles, the right-hander suffered a major blunder, giving up seven runs while striking out just four batters.
And rather than calm his anxieties in his next outing, the 26-year-old gave up five runs in 4 1/3 innings in a blowout loss to the Mets at Citi Field.
Manager Aaron Boone acknowledged he gave “a little bit” thought to delay Gill’s next start or even sit him out entirely.
Instead, Gill will try to bounce back against the Reds on Tuesday in the Bronx.
Boone said the team believes Gill is in “pretty good shape” physically and will pitch for three straight games with an extra day of rest due to the team’s rest day.
Boone said Gill could get some more rest around the All-Star break, but he attributed his recent slump to “a couple of tough games that I don’t think were necessarily physical.”
So the question remains: what has changed?
For one, now that Gill has played more innings, adjustments from opposing batsmen were inevitable.
“Maybe a little bit,” Boone said. “But it’s [that] he, [had been]I don’t know how the ball is going to come out like this, or the release point or anything like that, mechanically. [it’s] “Just a young pitcher who hasn’t been very dominant and has had some ups and downs. Hopefully, his throwing motion and form will get in sync and put him in a good position for his next turn.”
An American League scout who has seen Gill start many of his major league starts said fatigue is almost certainly a factor in his declining performance.
“He’s whiffing less and obviously striking out less, so it’s a combination of a lot of things,” the scout said. “I know they’ve already been talking about it. [putting] Send him to the bullpen. Don’t do that yet, because then it’s going to be hard to get him to pitch innings. [as a starter] “The second half. Maybe even the end.”
Gill has never appeared as a relief pitcher in the major leagues, but started all but three of his minor league appearances with the Yankees.
Boone said the difficult situation wasn’t entirely unexpected.
“He’s been dominant so far this year and unfortunately, you go through some tough games like this, sometimes that’s part of the learning curve,” Boone said. “But that’s the way it is. It’s a tough league. There are things you have to learn and things you have to go through, there are going to be tough moments, but that’s part of it. You learn.” [by] By experiencing that and sometimes experiencing setbacks, you get through it and become a better person on the other side.”
—Additional reporting by Greg Joyce
