Gil made one excellent start in five June appearances.
As the New York Yankees continue to struggle, young right-hander Luis Gil had another subpar performance on Tuesday night in a defeat to the Cincinnati Reds. The Yankees lost the first game of the series for the fourth time in a row, 5-4.
Gil was relieved in the fifth inning after hitting two batters and allowing a two-run home run that gave the Reds a 3-0 lead. Cincinnati scored four runs against Gil, who allowed two singles and three walks in addition to those hit by pitches.
Gil hasn’t looked the same in almost a month, with his ERA jumping from 1.82 on June 9 to 3.41 after Tuesday’s start.
Neither he nor the Yankees’ coaching staff know what’s gone wrong with the 26-year-old.
“Maybe the delivery wasn’t quite what I wanted,” Gil remarked through the team’s Spanish interpreter. “I can’t pinpoint exactly why.”
“Just mechanically syncing your body to the point where you can feel comfortable and like I mentioned before,” Gil told CNN’s Brendan Kuty. “When you compete at this level, you may encounter some challenges. But, at the same time, I am confident that by working hard, I will be able to come out of it and prevent things like that from happening again.”
Gil has recently experienced nothing but bumps. His last decent start came on June 4. Since then, he has allowed 20 runs in his last five starts while walking 14. Luis Gil has one win in his five starts.
“It’s tough,” Gil added, “but there’s no letting up. That’s how it is. You keep fighting. You keep fighting, and then you turn things around.”
Yankees’ slide continues as All-Star break nears
The Yankees were recently contending for the best record in baseball, but a rough patch in recent weeks has cost them their lead in the AL East, now held by the Baltimore Orioles.
Since June 13, New York has gone 5-12, falling from a two and a half game lead in the division and the highest winning percentage in MLB. They haven’t won a series since losing to the Kansas City Royals, who narrowly avoided a four-game sweep.
Despite Aaron Judge’s continued dominance at the plate, the rest of the Yankees lineup, aside from Juan Soto, has struggled. Over the past 15 days, Anthony Volpe has posted a .533 OPS, Alex Verdugo has managed just five hits in 43 at-bats, and DJ LeMahieu has a .499 OPS.
The pitching staff hasn’t helped either, with no quality starts since June 23. The rotation has posted an 8.72 ERA over the last 12 games, resulting in a 3-9 record.
With the All-Star break approaching, it could be a good time for the Yankees to regroup. If they can secure six or seven wins in their final 11 games before the break, they would reach 60 wins with 64 games left, putting them in a strong position for a playoff spot if they play .500 baseball the rest of the way.
However, the Yankees have higher ambitions, aiming to reclaim the AL East lead, secure the top seed in the American League, and win the World Series. Achieving these goals will be challenging if their current performance continues.
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