Luis Gil penciled in to start Sunday for Yankees . . . with an eraser
Luis Gil of the Yankees reacts after the final out of the second inning against the Red Sox in the second game of a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Opposing hitters haven’t been able to touch Luis Gil. But the rookie righthander might be stopped by Tropical Storm Henri.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said on Friday that Gil is penciled in to make his fourth major league start on Sunday against the Twins at Yankee Stadium – if there is a game on Sunday at Yankee Stadium.
The forecast for Sunday as Henri heads for New York is making that look unlikely.
Gil, 23, has not given up a run in his first 15 2/3 innings.
"We plan on -- if we’re able to play Sunday – that we would call him up (from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre) and he would be the starter," Boone said.
Boone said "not necessarily" when asked if he envisioned Gil becoming a permanent part of the Yankees’ rotation after Sunday. Gil has been sent down immediately after all three of his starts.
If Sunday’s game is rained out, the Yankees and Twins have three mutual off-days the rest of the season: Sept. 2, 13 and 27.
The Yankees play a two-game interleague series at Atlanta starting Monday, so scheduled starting pitchers Jordan Montgomery (Monday) and Andrew Heaney (Tuesday) took batting practice before Friday’s game.
One starting pitcher who may not be rejoining the Yankees anytime soon is Domingo German, who is on the injured list with shoulder inflammation.
Boone said German, who was supposed to face live hitters this week, felt "soreness" on Thursday. The manager said he didn’t have a report on what this means yet for the righthander, who hasn’t pitched since July 31.
The Yankees went into Friday with their pitchers posting a 2.94 ERA in their last 40 starts.
"Guys are executing at a high level now," said Gerrit Cole, who will make his second start since coming off the COVID-19 injured list on Saturday. "We’ve been pitching well with leads as well. The offense has spotted us a few runs several times early in the game and we’ve been able to get relatively deep. I think there’s still a little bit left to be desired in terms of maybe finishing off an outing or two to try to shave off an inning for the bullpen in a couple of situations. But for the most part, we’re beating teams early and then holding them. That’s been fun to watch."
Cole said he felt "pretty great" after lasting 5 2/3 innings on Monday in his first start July 29.
Torres update
Gleyber Torres (left thumb sprain) took dry swings for the first time on Friday and is expected to do so again on Saturday.
"Most of the swelling’s out of there," Boone said. "I would say an encouraging day today."
Torres has been out since Aug. 9.
Extra bases
Going into Friday, Yankees pitchers had recorded a save in seven straight games, the longest streak in franchise history since saves became an official statistic in 1969 . . . According to STATS, the Yankees on Thursday became the first team in AL history to win six games against four different teams (White Sox, Red Sox, Angels, Twins) in a span of five days.
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
