Severino aces Met test in first start since Sox

Following Luis Severino’s eight earnedrun implosion against the Red Sox on Saturday, Joe Girardi said the flop was simply a reminder that Severino is “human.” Girardi may need to take Severino’s pulse to double-check that claim, because the 23-year-old All-Star returned to his robotic ace-like self on Thursday, pitching 6.1 dominant innings in the Yankees’ 7-5 win over the Mets to complete the fourgame Subway Series sweep.

Severino, who improved to 10-5, gave up just four hits, one unearned run and struck out nine. He faced four or fewer batters in each of his first five innings. The Yankee ace has now won five of his last six games pitched.

Girardi believes Severino’s struggles last season, when he finished the year 3-8 with a 5.83 ERA, have helped the righthander mature and be able to better overcome poor outings like the one against Boston.

“I think he grew a lot last year,” Girardi said after the game. “And I think a lot of times in life you grow more through your struggles than you do your success.”

Severino, who gave up eight hits and 10 runs (eight earned) in 4.1 innings against the Red Sox, said the biggest difference Thursday night was the fact he was able

AP Luis Severino returns to ace form Thursday night, shutting down Mets in 6.1 dominant innings, allowing just one unearned run while striking out nine, and Yankees can breathe a sigh of relief that Saturday’s bad outing against Boston was just a blip.