Yankees 3, Cubs 0: Gil hot in first start off IL
09/06/2024 05:30 PM
Returning from the IL, Gil stole the show in Rizzo's return to Chicago, and a new closer might have emerged.
A windy and cloudy afternoon at Wrigley Field was the backdrop to the start of a series between the New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs. With the Cubs looking to gain as much ground as possible in their Wild Card spot race and the Yankees trying to claw their way back to the lead in the AL East, both squads had something to fight for in the opening game of the three-game set. Luis Gil was the man who took center stage, as the Yankees' rookie starter dominated Chicago en route to a 3-0 victory.
The Yankees made Cubs starter Jordan Wicks work in the first inning. The lefty threw 28 pitches, allowed a hit, and walked two batters to load the bases while striking out Juan Soto and Austin Wells. The inning ended with Jazz Chisholm Jr. tapping a grounder back to the mound, but showing life early against a starter early is always promising — especially given New York's struggles with southpaws in 2024.
Gil opened up the game in the first start of his brief stint on the injured list with a smooth first and second inning, throwing 19 pitches, facing only the first four batters in the first, and tossing 23 pitches in the second. As for Wicks, he worked through his next frame with ease, but when the top of the Yankees order came back up to the plate, it was open season.
Gleyber Torres walked to start the top of the third inning, and Soto — the first Wicks strikeout victim in the first — smoked a line drive to right field to bring up Aaron Judge. And despite his lack of power over the last nine games, the captain showed why he's the best hitter on the plane, pulling a ball down the third-base line to score Torres and move Soto to third with a double. Then, Wells — Wicks' second strikeout victim — hit a liner to left-center field and scored two more runs, putting the Yankees up by a 3-0 margin.
The inning ended with a rather embarrassing third out, as Wells, still at first, tried to bait Wicks with a secondary lead. The catcher slipped and fell to the ground, giving the left-handed pitcher the easiest pickoff of his life and a free pass to a third out, exiting an otherwise positive inning for the visitors.
Wicks ended up smoothing his afternoon out and got through five frames. He was no match for Gil, however, as the 26-year-old shook off some low velocity numbers early on to completely roll the hapless Cubs lineup. The lone knock he allowed was a clean double by Cody Bellinger in the fourth, and nothing came of it. Gil completed six shutout innings of one-hit ball with seven strikeouts and only the two early walks to his name.
That's exactly the kind of quality starting pitching that the Yankees need alongside ace Gerrit Cole as they fight for the AL East (and eventually, the pennant).
One of the few down sides from the afternoon was that aside from the three-run third, the Yankees' offense was dormant for the majority of the afternoon. There was the occasional short succession of hits to put a couple of men on, but no one came across home to add to their 3-0 lead. So it became a test for the much-maligned relief corps.
The bullpens for both teams did well in shutting down the opposition. For the Yankees, Jake Cousins and Tommy Kahnle carried the load into the ninth, and the Cubs used Keegan Thompson, Shawn Armstrong, and Trey Wingenter to keep the visitors at bay.
The Yankees debuted one of their options in the closer role with Luke Weaver, who sliced and diced through the first two Cubs batters he faced in the bottom of the ninth inning. He walked the third batter, Bellinger (owner of Chicago's only hit), but after a long at-bat against Isaac Paredes, Weaver earned his first career save in place of the demoted Clay Holmes.
A big afternoon for the New York pitching staff and timely hitting by the top of the Yankees lineup allowed for a bounce-back performance at Wrigley Field. The future for Gil, whether he's in the bullpen or stays as a starter, is still unclear, but his performance today showed why he's still in the AL Rookie of the Year race. As previously noted, he'll be essential to the Yankees' fate this season.
The Bombers have been winning a lot of series openers lately before failing to actually take two out of three. They'll try to shake off that trend tomorrow afternoon, when another talented young pitcher returns from the IL. For the first time since May 26th, righty Clarke Schmidt will get the ball, with Nestor Cortes likely piggybacking whenever Schmidt hits his pitch count. Righty Javier Assad will oppose them, and his first pitch will come at 2:20pm ET.
