“We are going through a tough stretch right now” - Aaron Boone discusses Yankees bullpen struggles after humiliating defeat against Orioles

The AL East matchup between the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Yankees is soaring not only in terms of intensity but also on the scoresheet. On Thursday, the Orioles humbled the Yankees with a monstrous outing, scoring 17 runs and only giving up five runs to the Yankees. After dropping the first game of the series, the Orioles have won two on the trot to win the series.

It was a disaster for the Yankees bullpen, and manager Aaron Boone knows it. On Wednesday, they couldn't close out the game and a day later, they let the balloon burst after starter Luis Gil exited the ball game after only pitching 1.1 innings for seven earned runs.

In the presser, reporters asked Boone about the poor state of the bullpen.

"Yeah, I mean, it has been a little up and down for some guys and you know, that's gonna happen. Talk to you guys all the time about this, like the season's going to throw you wrenches. It's not just going to be you know, that's why teams don't win 110 15 20 games, you know, it's it's tough," Boone said.

"We're we're going through a tough stretch right now. We've had a little bit of a tough week and obviously had to lean on some guys heavily. Some guys are struggling to get that consistency down there, but you know, we got to just keep working at it."

It was not only the pitching that hurt the Yankees. Defensive errors continued to elongate the innings, resulting in runs. Interestingly, out of the 10 runs scored after Gil's exit, only six were earned by the bullpen, while the rest were attributed to errors.

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Yankees manager Aaron Boone says Luis Gil's outing is an "opportunity to grow and learn"

MLB: Tampa Bay Rays at New York Yankees

Entering Thursday's game, Luis Gil was coming off AL Pitcher of the Month recognition for May and was one of the Yankees top arm this season.

However, in his 1.1 innings, he allowed eight hits, seven earned runs and two walks. He missed his spot badly and only threw 47 pitches before Boone came on the mound to pull him out.

After the game, the Yankees manager sees this outing as an opportunity for Gil to learn from and that every now and then such bumps will come and go.

"I mean, he's obviously in the midst of a great year and this doesn't change that you know, this is one bump in the road and frankly, you know, it's it's always," Boone said. "An opportunity to grow and learn from which he's done a great job all year."

"This game will get you and and it's a humbling game," Boone added. "So we'll learn from this he'll grow from it and excited to see him get back out there."

Luis Gil had a 2.07 ERA mark entering this game, but following his start, his mark worsened to 2.77.

The series loss shrank the Yankees' lead in the AL East. They dropped to 51-26, while the Orioles (49-25) are now only 0.5 games behind.