Luis Gil outduels Corbin Burnes in Yankees win over Orioles, 2-0
Luis Gil outdueled Corbin Burnes as the Yankees beat the Orioles 2-0 on Wednesday night in Baltimore.
Here are the takeaways...
-Entering Wednesday, Gil had never started the seventh inning in his career, but the 25-year-old would do it against a formidable Orioles lineup. The right-hander didn't allow a hit until one out in the third inning.
Gil attacked the zone, got ahead in counts and never let up, pitching 6.1 scoreless innings (95 pitches/58 strikes), giving up just two hits, one walk and striking out five batters.
-On the other side, Burnes was effective against an inconsistent Yankees lineup. The former NL Cy Young winner gave up two runs on four hits and one walk while striking out six batters across six innings.
The one mistake Burnes made was to Oswaldo Cabrera, who got around an inside 95 mph cutter and placed it just over the right-field wall. The umps looked at the home run afterward as it came close to the right-field foul pole, but it was discovered that the ball was lodged into the guard rail in fair territory.
-After Gil, the Yankees bullpen had an up-and-down game. Caleb Fergusson got the two outs easily in relief of Gil -- including inheriting a runner. Ian Hamilton started the eighth but after a leadoff walk and hitting a batter, the right-hander induced a fly ball to the catcher on Anthony Santander.
Manager Aaron Boone then elected to go to his closer to try and get a five-out save. He struck out Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rustchman on seven pitches to get out of the jam. Holmes pitched around a leadoff single to pick up his 10th save of the season.
-Outside of the Cabrera home run, the Yankees offense was silent. The team had four total hits with Cabrera picking up two. Juan Soto and Jose Trevino had the other two Yankees hits, both singles.
Game MVP: Luis Gil
Wednesday was arguably Gil's best start of his career. With the Yankees losing the first two games of the series, and with Burnes on the mound, it felt like a forgone conclusion that they would drop the first three games.
With the win, the Yanks have a chance to split the series on the road against the team who will be their biggest obstacle to an AL East crown.
Highlights
What's next...
The Yankees complete their four-game series with the Orioles on Thursday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.
Carlos Rodon (2-1, 4.30 ERA) will take the mound. Baltimore has yet to announce their starter.
