“It doesn't matter who your facing” - Luis Gil reflects on shutout innings in strong Yankees comeback win against Orioles
Luis Gil pitched excellently as he helped the New York Yankees shut out the Baltimore Orioles 2-0 on Wednesday. Gil went the distance, pitching 6.1 scoreless innings (95-58), giving up just two hits, one walk and striking out five batters.
On the day when the offense was hard to come by against both starting pitchers, the other being Corbin Burnes, they held up their end of the bargain. Burnes also pitched well, throwing six innings for two earned runs.
The only pair of runs on the board was by Oswaldo Cabrera, who blasted a two-run homer in the fifth and that was the only scoring shot of the night.
"It doesn't matter who you are facing," Gil said via an interpreter. "You know once you are locked in and concentrating on what you want to do, that's really it. You know regardless of who you are facing. The level of concentration for me has to be high and that's really what I focus on."
In the absence of Gerrit Cole, who is out with an elbow injury, Luis Gil earned the fifth spot in the starting rotation. In six games started, Gil has pitched 31.0 innings for a 3.19 ERA, compiling 40 strikeouts.
Oswaldo Cabrera knew what Luis Gil was up to before the game
Sometimes you just know that you are going to have a better day and that was the case with Luis Gil.
In an interaction with Bryan Hoch, Oswaldo Cabrera recalled how Gil was locked in right when he saw the team's bus.
"I knew this game would be special for him, because he was so serious on the bus," Cabrera said. "When I stepped on the bus and I saw that guy just concentrating, in my mind, I was like, 'Watch out.'"
The Yankees have improved to 20-12 and will play the last game of the four-game series on Thursday. So far, this series has been an exciting and close one. The Orioles clinched the first two by a margin of two runs, but the Yankees got one right back on Wednesday.
With both teams locked in to win the division this year, it remains to be seen who tops the competitive AL East.