Yankees’ Aaron Boone makes strange starting pitching decision ahead of Atlanta series

The Yankees have been constantly dealing with injuries to the pitching staff. For a while, it seemed like every week, the Yankees were adding a new arm. Most of them have had a positive effect on the team. One of them still hasn’t allowed a run in almost 16 innings of work.

Luis Gil has been dominant since his MLB debut against the Orioles. In three starts, he’s allowed zero runs, nine hits, and has tallied eighteen strikeouts. He’s the first pitcher in Yankees history to not allow any runs in each of his first three starts. Gil has been a huge spark in New York’s historic month of August.

Yesterday, the Yankees were supposed to go for the series sweep against the Twins. Gil was scheduled to start as New York went for their tenth straight victory. However, because of Hurricane Henri, the game was postponed to a later date. Then, the Yankees flew to Atlanta to prepare for their next series. 

Shortly after arriving, Aaron Boone announced the starters pitching against the Braves. Jordan Montgomery is slated to pitch tonight and Andrew Heaney tomorrow. With the way Gil has been pitching, it’s odd they didn’t schedule him today. Instead, they skipped right over him. 

Gil’s dominance so far has led to some important victories. His shutout performance against the Red Sox allowed New York to overtake Boston in the standings. Gil has proven he can pitch well in big spots. So why not give him a chance against Atlanta?

The Braves are not a lefty-heavy lineup. At the most, they will start two left-handed bats against New York. The Yankees are going to be starting two left-handed pitchers. It’s very odd that Boone wouldn’t give Gil a shot against a righty dominant lineup. Many think that Gil has a shot at making the playoff roster. It turns out that the Yankees might not be so high on him.

Why aren’t the Yankees using Gil?

I understand that Gil has only appeared in three games. It’s hard to determine a player’s value in a small sample size. However, could Gil have pitched any better? It’s obvious he’s doing something right. Pitching Heaney on Tuesday against a very good home run hitting lineup doesn’t make sense to me. Personally, I would rather have Gil pitch tonight and Montgomery tomorrow. 

Going forward, it’ll be interesting to see how the Yankees plan on using Gil. He’s turned into a very strong option for New York. 

Tune in tonight as two of the hottest teams in baseball both try and win their tenth straight! The Yankees and the Braves will start a two-game series at 7:20 pm EST!