The Yankees declined to sacrifice top prospects to deal for a frontline starting pitcher ahead of the July 31 trade deadline, so their primary rotation addition turned out to be the awaited return of the reigning AL Rookie of the Year.

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Luis Gil will make his third start Friday night in St. Louis since returning earlier this month from a right lat injury that sidelined him since spring training.

His second outing Saturday against the Astros — two earned runs with one walk and seven strikeouts over 5 ⅓ innings in a 5-4 home victory — encouragingly represented a marked improvement from a rocky showing

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