Yankees’ Luis Gil owns the Red Sox originally appeared on The Sporting News.
Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
There are some guys who just perform better on a big stage.
When it comes to Yankees-Red Sox, Luis Gil is putting himself in that category.
Gil has been good in the past against Boston. And even amid a season that has been rough so far, the chance to line up against the Red Sox at Fenway Park was apparently exactly what Gil needed.
On Tuesday night, Gil went 6.1 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and three walks while striking out two.
He now has the lowest ERA ever by any Yankees pitcher in their first six regular season starts against the Red Sox, according to Katie Sharp of Baseball Reference.
In those six starts, Gil is 3-1, including 3-0 at Fenway Park.
MORE: Wait, Aaron Judge at third base?
His overall ERA against Boston is 0.80 — and again, that’s better at Fenway, a 0.52 ERA in the Red Sox home ballpark.
Red Sox hitters have hit just .147 off of Gil, with it being an even lower .103 at Fenway Park.
Sometimes these things are hard to explain, and sometimes specific matchups work in a pitcher’s favor.
This Red Sox lineup isn’t that similar to what it was two years ago when Gil first came up and won Rookie of the Year, though, so there’s more to it than that.
Stats like this often feel like randomness, but maybe Gil really is simply motivated by one of the greatest rivalries in sports. Whatever it is, taking on the Red Sox makes Gil a top-end pitcher for the Yankees again.