Gil Shines In New York Yankee Debut

The New York Yankees expected to roll out their ace, Gerrit Cole, against the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium. Once again, there was a last minute change of plans for the Bronx Bombers. Their All Star right-hander was scratched testing positive for COVID-19. Time for a new plan.

As put by Bill Ladson of MLB.com, "The Yankees needed an emergency starter. In came right-hander Luis Gil, the team’s No. 6 prospect per MLB Pipeline. He made his Major League debut, and he was outstanding as the Yanks pounded the Orioles, 13-1. On Monday, Gil thought he was going to still be pitching for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre the next day. But he received the call that night telling him he was going to the big leagues."

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Ladson quoted Gil, “I was so excited, I called my family. I barely slept. The emotions and everything I felt were going through my head,” the young hurler said through an interpreter. “I prayed a lot. I asked for guidance, because I knew I was going to be nervous.”'

To his credit, Luis Gil, couldn't have looked more composed, ready to compete and compete he did. Gil went six scoreless innings. He threw consistently in the high 90's and mixed his fastball, curve and change up throughout the strike zone. Gil was able to cruise, thanks to a couple of Giancarlo Stanton home runs and plenty of run support. The Yankees hammered the Orioles pitching for 15 hits.

MLB.com quoted Yankee manager Aaron Boone,“He was getting [strike one] all night. He was able to land his breaking ball and threw some good changeups, too,” Boone said. “So he had a presence with his secondary pitches. As we talked about before the game, the fastball really plays. It’s great velocity and it has great characteristics. He was pounding the strike zone.”

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That was a big outing for the young right-hander. It is always fun to see young players come up to the Major Leagues and have success in their first game. That's what keeps the dream of baseball alive.