Rookie phenom Luis Gil great again, Giancarlo Stanton and Gleyber Torres homer as Yankees win sixth straight
Luis Gil of the Yankees reacts after the sixth inning against the Twins at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
On the night Gerrit Cole made his first minor-league rehab appearance, Luis Gil showed again why the Yankees’ ace can take all the time he needs to come back.
Gil was magnificent again on Tuesday. He threw six shutout innings and allowed just one hit as the Yankees won their sixth in a row, 5-1, over the Twins before 37,139 at Yankee Stadium.
The only hit against Gil (8-1, 1.82 ERA) was a one-out double by No. 9 batter Christian Vazquez in the third. The ball flew over the head of rightfielder Juan Soto, who was playing shallow against the righthanded hitter.
“I didn’t think he was overwhelming tonight,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Which is kind of a testament to how he walked through six innings there.”
Gil, the American League’s May pitcher of the month, walked three and struck out six. The 26-year-old rookie righthander has allowed zero or one run in each of his last seven starts. The Yankees acquired Gil from Minnesota in March 2018 for outfielder Jake Cave.
“He’s been unreal all year,” said Giancarlo Stanton, who homered along with Gleyber Torres. “Another one today in his fashion. He’s been unreal to watch all year.”
Before the game, Boone was asked what has most impressed him about Gil.
“Growth,” Boone said. “Maturity. Just getting more and more comfortable as a pitcher in this league. But as a young pitcher, too, it’s been fun to see him learn from things throughout the year. Obviously, build on a lot of success. But as great as it’s been, he’s had things that have come up in games where it’s been a challenge, and I do feel like he’s learned from those things, and has applied them in short order.”
Case in point: Gil, cruising along with a 3-0 lead with one out in the fifth, walked No. 8 hitter Willi Castro on four pitches.
Pitching coach Matt Blake popped out of the dugout to chat with Gil. What was the message?
Gil, who was tight-lipped about the specifics even through an interpreter, said: “Quick conversation. Stay calm and keep attacking.”
Perhaps they should make a T-shirt that says just that because two pitches later, Vazquez grounded into an inning-ending, 5-4-3 double play. After a 1-2-3 sixth, Gil was removed at 88 pitches.
The Yankees got some offensive luck, not that they seem to need it when they play the Twins. Since 2002, including postseason, the Yankees are 121-44 vs. Minnesota.
But who’s going to turn down luck? It helped Torres when he gave the Yankees a 1-0 lead in the second with a 349-foot home run that went into the first row off the glove of Twins rightfielder Max Kepler.
Torres’ fifth home run would have been out in exactly one of the 30 MLB ballparks — the one with a short porch in the Bronx. Or it might have been an out if the 6-4 Kepler had been an inch taller.
And good fortune smiled on Aaron Judge in the third when he dunked a two-run double off the foul line (fair line?) in right to make it 3-0.
Tommy Kahnle gave up a one-out solo homer to Royce Lewis in the seventh.
Stanton more than answered with a 420-foot, two-run homer to the second deck and inside the foul pole (fair pole?) in left to make it 5-1 in the eighth.
It was Stanton’s 15th home run; he, Judge (21 homers) and Juan Soto (17) are the first trio to hit at least 15 in the first 62 games of a season in franchise history.
The Yankees (43-19) are tied with the Phillies for the best record in baseball.
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.
