Yankees’ Luis Gil equals epic Tyler Glasnow, Jack Flaherty strikeout feat vs. White Sox

The right-hander now has the franchise rookie record for single-game punch-outs, surpassing Orlando Hernandez’s mark set in 1998. Ironically, “El Duque” threw out the game’s first pitch.

Gil got off to a slow start, allowing three hits and a walk across 29 pitches in the first inning, including Andrew Benintendi’s RBI double. However, he then followed that up with five consecutive shutdown frames.

Gil’s final line was just one earned run allowed across six innings, with five hits and one walk. The Dominican international threw just 98 pitches, 65 of them strikes.

The win brings Gil’s record to 5-1, with a 2.39 ERA and 1.08 WHIP. New York couldn’t have asked for a better start to his campaign.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone sang Gil’s praises after the 6-1 victory, via SNY.

“Really impressive,” Boone said. “You know, he was okay in that first inning, too. (Gavin) Sheets dumps the one in there, and then kind of an ‘excuse me’ swing on the double there by Beni, you know, which made the inning a little long for ’em. But I thought he actually came out throwing the ball well even in that first inning, so.”

Gil’s first inning actually helped set the tone, as he diffused what could’ve been a big Chicago rally to start the game. If a pitcher only allows one run in his worst frame of the game, that’s a great day at the office.

“(Tommy) Pham, who’s been a thorn for us here these first couple of games, had a really good at-bat on him to start the game,” Boone continued. “But he was really good. I mean, you know, as good as his fastball’s been all season, today felt like maybe his best one. I mean, just pouring it in there, with the presence of the secondary stuff too. Just really impressive.”

The same could be said about the rest of New York’s pitchers.

The Yankees’ pitching staff has been the MLB’s best without its ace

New York currently leads the league with a 2.83 ERA sans ace Gerrit Cole, who’s projected to return from injury in June. The club also tops the MLB with 18 saves, thanks in large part to Clay Holmes, who’s 13-for-13 in save opportunities. The closer has been lights-out, allowing no earned runs across 19.1 innings.

While not everyone can uphold to that standard, the staff has plenty of other unsung heroes. Clarke Schmidt (2.49 ERA), Luke Weaver (2.25 ERA), and Ron Marinaccio (1.42 ERA) are some other non-household names who’ve dominated this year.

It could be a scary sight for the league once Cole returns. The right-hander is coming off a Cy Young award-winning season, and if he gets back to anywhere near that form, the Yankees’ pitching staff may be unstoppable heading into October.