Entering Thursday in the midst of a dream season, Luis Gil turned in a nightmare of a start.
The Yankees right-hander was ambushed by the Orioles, getting rocked for seven runs on eight hits and two walks while recording just four outs.
Aaron Boone finally put Gil out of his misery with one out in the second inning, with the Yankees trailing 7–0 and the bases loaded, when he called on Michael Tonkin from the bullpen.
The runs and hits allowed were both career-highs for Gil, whose ERA went from 2.03 to 2.77 in one disastrous outing.
In the Yankees’ 77th game of the year, it was the first time their starter did not complete at least four innings. Their 76-game streak was the longest single-season streak in franchise history and the seventh-longest season-opening streak by any major league team since 1900.
Gil came into Thursday having made nine straight starts in which he threw at least five innings and allowed three or fewer runs, but it was clear early on he simply did not have it.
His first pitch of the day was roped for a double by Gunnar Henderson over the head of Juan Soto, and it only got worse from there.
Henderson eventually came in to score on Ryan O’Hearn’s single, but Gil stopped the bleeding there.
He was not able to do the same in the second inning.
Cedric Mullins crushed a two-run homer to make it 3-0 before Gil recorded the first out of the frame.
He then walked No. 9 hitter Ramon Urias, the first of seven straight Orioles to reach before Boone gave Gil the hook.
The big blow was Ryan Mountcastle’s three-run double chopped down the third-base line.
Tonkin did Gil a favor and retired the first two batters he faced to leave the bases loaded and not make the starter’s final line any worse.
