Luis Gil didn’t flinch under some tough pitching against the Dodgers, but he also wasn’t at his best in the 6-4 series-clinching victory in the Bronx.
The right-hander, who has allowed just four hits in his past three starts, was less than dominant Sunday night, giving up five hits and three runs in 5 2/3 innings, his shortest outing in more than a month.
Still, his production stood out in the eyes of Aaron Boone and his teammates, especially his ability to limit the Dodgers’ top four batters to just one hit, while Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith were all just one-for-11 against him.
“They’re one of the best teams in the league,” Aaron Judge said. “He played great. He gave up three runs and left the game with a lead, but the way he played against that lineup and those top guys, that’s the kind of guy you want on the mound in a situation like this.”
“It was a fight,” Gil said through a translator. “It was fun.”
Gil has given up just three earned runs and 15 hits in 44 2/3 innings over his seven starts, and on Sunday his only hit in the first four innings was a leadoff double by Teoscar Hernandez in the second inning.
Gil left him there.
But in the fifth inning, Gill gave up a powerful double to Andy Page with one out, then gave up a single to Gavin Lux, who advanced Page to third base.
Lux stole second base and after Gil struck out Kiké Hernández, Mookie Betts hit a two-run double to left field to tie the game at 2-2.
Boone said he believed Gill’s game was over after he tired late in the game and gave up a game-winning solo home run to Teoscar Hernandez in the sixth inning.
In the end, he allowed three runs, his most since giving up five against Milwaukee on April 26.
All of this was before Trent Grisham, who replaced Juan Soto in the outfield, relieved Gil with a three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth to put the Yankees back ahead against Tyler Glasnow.
With Sunday’s come-from-behind victory, the Yankees have won all but two of Gill’s 13 starts.
And despite Gill’s uneven performance on Sunday, his ERA is still just 2.04.
“In the short time that I’ve known him, he lives for the moment,” Judge said. “I’m looking forward to more.”
