Yankees ready to deploy their Luis Gil advantage in Game

CLEVELAND Luis Gil spent most of the season as one of the top right-handed starters in the majors. Hes spent nearly the , with his last appearance coming Sept. 28. Gil will return to action Friday to start Game 4 of the ALCS against the Guardians. Luis Gil throws a pitch during the first inning of the Yankees 9-4 lo s to the Pirates on Sept. 28, 2024. Robert Sabo for NY Post Your delivery and emotions after layoff like that is always a concern, pitching coach Matt Blake said before at Progre sive Field. Now, youre going into a spot like that, pitching in your first playoff game, its a lot. We feel like hes in a good state of mind. Gil threw a four-inning simulated game at Yankee Stadium on Sunday to line him up with Fridays outing. Explore More Blake said the right-hander was sharp in that 65-pitch se sion, but theres still the uncertainty of dealing with a hostile playoff environment. Gerrit Cole said hes checked in with Gil throughout his rookie season, but didnt want to overload the 26-year-old with information, especially because he pitched well for most of the year. Yankees Luis Gil pitches during a workout. AP The Yankee ace discu sed the long layoff between outings and Blake said he believed Gil had a good mindset about not pitching in the ALDS. I think he understood the dynamic of it being a shorter series and being in the bullpen instead of the rotation, Blake said. We wanted him to focus on his current role and going forward, pointing to a start like [Fridays]. Follow The Posts coverage of the Yankees in the postseason: Gil said through Jordan Bowden Jersey an interpreter Thursday he was proud of the season I was able to put together. Its certainly a better season a 15-7 record with a 3.50 ERA than that of Clevelands Friday starter, Gavin Williams (3-10, 4.86 ERA), or their Game 1 starter, Alex Cobb, or Matt Boyd in Game 3. Yankees pitcher Luis Gil reacts on the mound after giving up a solo home run. Robert Sabo for NY Post So once again, the Yankees will have a decided advantage when it comes to the most important aspect of the game, with Gil in reserve and a bullpen game not on the horizon. As they try to win their first World Series title since 2009, Aaron Boone talked about that starting pitching depth that has been largely absent, even among the remaining teams in the playoffs. Go beyond the box score with the Bombers Sign up for Inside the Yankees by Greg Joyce, exclusively on Sports+. Thank you By clicking above you agree to the and . Enjoy this Post Sports+ exclusive newsletter! I think, right now with the teams left it is probably something that differentiates us a little bit, Boone said of his starting pitching. Because I feel like were going to roll out four really good starters at you that have a chance to get us deeper into a game and hopefully set our pen up to be used even better. He also mentioned , who had a poor second half but is on the ALCS roster. Part of it is weve been able to remain fairly healthy from a starting rotation, which I think is one of the reasons we were able to win our division and secure the best record in the American League, Boone said. It starts with those guys and them being able to go to the post as consistently as they did this year. I like where all those guys are and like the chance they give us every time each one of them takes the ball. Rodions Kurucs Jersey