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TORONTO — Luis Gil is up next in the Yankees’ playoff rotation, trying to follow the lead of the three arms before him.
Gil will get the ball for Game 1 of the ALDS on Saturday against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre, coming off an AL wild-card series in which the Yankees got strong starts from Max Fried, Carlos Rodón and Cam Schlittler.
Gil, who was not on the wild-card roster because he had last pitched on Sunday for Game 162, was the Yankees’ choice over Will Warren, with Fried not available to come back to pitch until Game 2 on Sunday.
Gil was not quite himself in 11 starts during the regular season after missing four months with a high-grade lat strain.
But he still found a way to be effective and limit damage, posting a 3.32 ERA.
That included one start against the Blue Jays last month, when he tossed six innings of one-run ball while walking four and striking out only one.
Warren had also made one start against the Blue Jays this year, when he gave up a season-high eight runs on 10 hits and four walks in July.
Gil has not been able to miss bats at the rate he was last year, as his strikeouts per nine have gone from 10.1 to 6.5, while he has battled his command and walked 5.2 batters per nine.
But the 27-year-old right-hander does have playoff experience, giving up two runs in four innings against the Guardians in Game 4 of the ALCS last October before giving up four runs in four innings against the Dodgers in Game 4 of the World Series.
After Gil, the Yankees are lined up to return to Fried for Game 2, Rodón for Game 3 and Schlittler for Game 4 if necessary.
If it gets to a Game 5, Fried would be on normal rest to start that game too.
In the AL wild-card series, Fried, Rodón and Schlittler combined to throw 20 1/3 innings while giving up just three runs (all charged to Rodón).
