Severino settles in and cruises
TORONTO — Luis Severino got himself in an early jam on Opening Day.
And you couldn’t help but think about his dud in the AL wild-card game, when he got too hyped up and unraveled as a result, recording just one out.
But that didn’t happen this time.
After issuing back-to-back walks with two outs in the first inning, pitching coach Larry Rothschild went out to visit with the Yankees’ 24-year-old ace.
“I was trying to do too much,” Severino said. “I was rushing to the plate. He talked to calm me down. That’s what I did. I think every pitch that I wanted to throw was with a purpose.”
Severino settled down, striking out Kendrys Morales to end the threat. Then he got into a groove, and it was over for the Blue Jays.
Severino allowed just one hit over 5.2 shutout innings, and the Yankees rolled in a 6-1 victory over Toronto at Rogers Centre on Thursday afternoon.
“It means a lot,” Severino said. “They gave me the ball, they trust me, and I’m glad that I threw a game like that.”
Just four Jays hitters reached against Severino — three via walks. Curtis Granderson’s fourth-inning single was the only hit Severino surrendered in his 91-pitch, seven-strikeout effort.
Severino was glad to get an early lead courtesy of Giancarlo Stanton’s two-run homer in the first. It took the crowd out of the game, which didn’t make for any type of electric, playofflike atmosphere.
“Thank God I don’t have to face them,” Severino said of the Yankees’ lineup. “We have a lot of power hitters, man. I’m glad we have Stanton and (Aaron) Judge right there.
“I was very calm. There wasn’t that much adrenaline. I was thinking it was going to be like a playoff. It wasn’t. I was calm and trying to hit the glove.”
Aaron Boone liked what he saw from Severino, who hopes to reach the 200-inning mark for the first time in his career in 2018.
“I thought Sevy had that one little hiccup where he walked those two guys and you could see he was a little bit out of sorts, but to see him kind of rein it in and then finally get right back into a groove and kind of get us through those middle innings was big,” Boone said.
“We talked about all that he’s been through at the big-league level, the ups and downs, and I think with all his experiences, you saw he looked a lot more experienced as a pitcher, with obviously good stuff.”
The Bombers put their faith in Severino to start on Opening Day. He rewarded that faith with his performance against the Blue Jays.