CHANGED MAN
One pitch the key for Luis
The progress that Luis Severino has made can be encapsulated in one pitch he threw in his dominant eight innings of shutout ball Wednesday night in the Yankees’ 3-0 victory over the Royals.
Severino was facing Eric Hosmer with a man on first and two outs in the fourth, the Yankees up 1-0 at the time. He threw three balls to begin the at-bat before getting Hosmer to foul off four straight pitches, three fastballs and a slider. He then got Hosmer looking with an 89 mile-anhour changeup to end the inning, a pitch he never would’ve thrown in a 3-2 count last year. “No. No way,” Severino said. That is symbolic of the strides the 23-year-old has made and the kind of night he enjoyed on Wednesday, which Severino said was the best he’s felt in the major leagues. He allowed just four hits and a walk with seven strikeouts and was hitting 98 mph in the eighth inning. He had all of his pitches working and looked like the ace the Yankees are hoping he can be.
“I thought he was unbelievable,” said Dellin Betances, who earned his fourth save with a perfect ninth. “It was fun to watch. He was throwing that hard that last inning, and that was impressive. I don’t think he ever struggled until last year so I bet that was tough for him, the first time you go through it, it’s kind of hard to get over that hump. But once he made the transition to the bullpen I saw him being more aggressive and using his breaking balls a lot better. I think that gave him confidence, and he worked very hard this offseason. He made sure he was ready and he shows he’s a No. 1 pitcher.”
Severino said he worked a lot in the offseason on his changeup, and Girardi felt like the righty began to trust in his changeup during spring training. “I’m not so sure he ever really felt comfortable with it last year,” Girardi said. “He probably understood the importance of it.”
Last year was a tough one for Severino. He lost his spot in the rotation and spent time in the minors, finishing the year with a 5.83 ERA in the majors across 11 starts and 11 relief appearances.
“My command was really bad so I had a lot of bad outings,” Severino said. “My changeup wasn’t there. This year I feel more confident in my changeup and fastball.”
Girardi was able to push Severino to a career-high 114 pitches. “I felt his stuff was still really good, and that’s what I’ve seen from him too is when he throws well, his stuff doesn’t fall off.”