Rookie sensation Gil dominates Twins, propels Yankees to 6th straight win

NEW YORK -- Yankees right hander Luis Gil is living the dream.

A day after snagging the American League Pitcher of the Month and Rookie of the Month for May, Gil added another chapter to his dream season at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night. Gil allowed one hit in six scoreless innings in a 5-1 victory over the Twins. Originally signed by the Twins in 2015, Gil was acquired by the Yankees for outfielder Jake Cave on March 16, 2018.

It marked the 10th time this season Gil has held an opponent to three hits or fewer in a game, and he has allowed a .129 batting average on the season. The only hit Gil allowed Tuesday occurred in the third inning, when Christian Vázquez doubled over the head of right fielder Juan Soto. Vázquez was left stranded after Trevor Larnach grounded out and Carlos Correa struck out looking.

• Cole K's 5, touches 97 mph in first rehab start

“His stuff really plays. The fastball is real. The hitters show you that every time,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “But you see how his changeup is. The changeup has been a genuine second-pitch factor for him pretty much every start. I felt tonight, he had a really good changeup.”

Gil lowered his ERA from 1.99 to 1.82, the fifth lowest by a Yankees pitcher through his first 12 starts of a season during the expansion era (since 1961), trailing only Whitey Ford’s 1.53 in 1964, Phil Niekro’s 1.58 in ‘84, Ron Guidry’s 1.72 in ‘78 and Dave Righetti’s 1.75 in ‘81.

“It’s hard not to initially look at the size of him on the mound,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He’s got a very good arm. He’s got good stuff. You see a lot of good stuff in the game. He’s better than most.

"A good, hard fastball. The hard changeup, I’m not even sure of the action on that pitch and what it’s doing, but it looks like a good, effective pitch based on the hitters’ reactions. That looked like a real strength of his, and he commanded the ball pretty well. When you have stuff like that and you command the ball pretty well, it’s a nice combination. He threw a good game today.”

It seemed unlikely that Gil would be an integral part of the Yankees’ rotation. He missed most of the past two years because of Tommy John surgery. The chances of him making the team seemed slim, but when Gerrit Cole suffered right elbow discomfort during Spring Training, Gil had a shot to make the Opening Day roster.

The realization that Gil could be a part of the rotation came on March 11 against the Phillies in Clearwater, Fla. In that game, Gil came out of the bullpen, replacing Clayton Beeter, and struck out eight batters in 3 2/3 innings.

“He came in and dominated the Phillies’ lineup in Clearwater. It was like, he smacked you in the face like, ‘Look at this,’” Boone remembered. “Then he followed it up his next time out against [the Blue Jays] in Tampa, and he hasn’t stopped since.”

Since he hasn’t pitched much in the past two years, Gil is a little surprised by his success. At the same time, as he pointed out through interpreter Marlon Abreu, Gil put in a lot of work to be a major part of the Yankees’ rotation.

“I had to come back from a big injury, a lot of dedication, a lot of hours to put myself in the situation where I could be here and compete,” Gil said. “I thank God for the opportunity to be here. I’m part of this team. It’s so good to see [the team] play well.”

New York jumped on Twins right-hander Bailey Ober in the second inning when Gleyber Torres hit a ball that bounced off the top of the right-field wall and went into the stands for his fifth home run of the season.

The following inning, with runners on first and second, Aaron Judge doubled down the right-field line, scoring DJ LeMahieu and Anthony Volpe.

In the eighth, Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run homer off reliever Caleb Thielbar to make it a four-run game.

The Yankees scored enough runs for Gil to win his eighth game of the season. New York has won six consecutive games and improved its record to 43-19, tied with the Phillies for the Majors’ best.

“Gil has been unreal all year. He had another [good] one today,” Stanton said.