NEW YORK -- For the first time since May 29, the New York Yankees are in a postseason spot. The Yankees swept the Boston Red Sox in a doubleheader Tuesday at Yankee Stadium, jumping over their historic rivals and into the second American League wild card spot. It is the first time the Yankees have been ahead of the Red Sox in the standings since April 6.
The first game of Tuesday's doubleheader was a wild back-and-forth affair, which the Yankees won because the Red Sox bullpen melted down in the fifth inning of a seven-inning game. The second game of the doubleheader was a pitcher's duel. Nathan Eovaldi held his former team to two solo home runs (Luke Voit and Giancarlo Stanton), and rookie Luis Gil continued to put up zeroes.
Gil, a 23-year-old right-hander making his third big-league start, wiggled in and out of trouble in 4 2/3 shutout innings. He struck out four thanks to a fastball that touches triple digits, and he held the Red Sox hitless in six at-bats with runners in scoring position. Most notably, he struck out three straight batters after allowing the first two runners to reach base in the second inning.
Three starts into his MLB career, Gil is unscored upon in 15 2/3 innings, which is the longest scoreless streak to begin a career by a Yankee in the Expansion Era (1961 to present). Joba Chamberlain held the previous record at 15 1/3 innings, though he did it as a reliever. Also, Gil is the first pitcher in MLB history with a scoreless start in each of his first three MLB appearances.
Our R.J. Anderson ranked Gil the No. 4 prospect in New York's system coming into the season, and he joined the rotation earlier this month when Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery landed on the COVID list. Cole and Montgomery returned earlier this week, so it's possible Tuesday will be Gil's last MLB start for a bit. If it is, he made a big impact in a very short time.
"Before every start, I pray a lot. I pray for things to work out well, to give me the strength to face the battles of a tough game," Gil said following Tuesday night's win. "My team helps me, working together to be the best we can."
The Yankees have had bullpen problems for weeks now, and once Gil was out of the game, lefty Wandy Peralta was charged with protecting the lead. Peralta got Rafael Devers to ground out to strand the bases loaded in the fifth (all three runners inherited from Gil), then he made a great play on a Bobby Dalbec comebacker with runners on the corners in the sixth.
"Things just aren't going our way at the moment," Devers said following the game.
Chad Green was the Yankees closer Tuesday night because Jonathan Loaisiga threw two innings in the first game of the doubleheader, and because Aroldis Chapman is hurt and Zack Britton is struggling so much that he asked out of the ninth inning. Green tossed a 1-2-3 seventh against the top of the lineup to nail down the win (NY 2, BOS 0).
With the doubleheader sweep, the Yankees are 68-52 (percentage points ahead of the 69-53 Red Sox) and in the second wild card spot. They've won 27 of their past 38 games and have baseball's best record since July 3. The Red Sox, meanwhile, have lost 13 of their past 19 and 21 of their past 36 games. They were 10 1/2 games up on the Yankees on July 6. Now they're behind them.
"We've got a long way to go," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after Tuesday night's win. "I like where our club is at, but we ain't done."
