The New York Yankees still have time to decide their playoff pitching picture.
Not a lot of time. Eleven games, to be specific.
New York (84-67) will try to learn more when it goes up against the Minnesota Twins (66-85) on Wednesday evening in Minneapolis.
Yankees right-hander Luis Gil (4-1, 2.83 ERA) will look to improve his case for a key spot in the playoff rotation when he makes his ninth start. He missed most of the season because of injury, but since his return Aug. 3 he has allowed two runs or fewer in seven of his first eight starts.
The 27-year-old Gil has earned victories in back-to-back starts against the Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox. He has allowed one earned run in 12 innings during that span.
Against the Twins, Gil is 1-0 with a 3.75 ERA in two career starts.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone knows that he will have southpaws Max Fried and Carlos Rodon available for a postseason run. Veteran right-hander Gerrit Cole is on the 60-day injured list along with fellow starter Clarke Schmidt, which leaves Gil, Will Warren and Cam Schlittler to compete for the third and fourth starter roles in the playoffs.
“We’ll do what we think is best,” Boone said. “I expect hopefully (all of those guys) to play a huge role for us down the stretch in what we hope is an October run.”
The Twins will try to spoil the Yankees’ postseason hypotheticals, if only for a day.
Minnesota is aiming for a series win after the teams split the first two contests of the three-game series. The Twins won the opener 7-0 Monday and the Yankees held on for a 10-9 win Tuesday.
Right-hander Taj Bradley (6-7, 4.88) will make his 26th start of the season and his fifth with Minnesota. He is in search of his first victory since joining his new team at the trade deadline.
The 24-year-old Bradley has made four career starts against the Yankees. He is 2-2 with a 3.42 ERA in those outings, and he has struck out 16 batters in 23 2/3 innings.
The series finale carries implications for Twins players, even if it involves next season instead of the postseason. One player who is looking for another quality performance is outfielder James Outman, whom Minnesota acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers before the trade deadline.
Outman hammered a 443-foot, two-run homer Tuesday night.
“I’ve always felt like I was a good player,” Outman said. “But just getting consistent at-bats and finding a routine that I believe in and just taking it into the games has been huge.”
For the Yankees, Anthony Volpe will look to build upon Tuesday’s performance in which he finished 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.
“Good to see him get some immediate results with a double the other way, a walk, base hit,” Boone said. “That was good. … It was good to see him jump right back in and contribute.”
-Field Level Media