HOUSTON HAS A PROBLEM WITH SEVY:
Stifles Stros with 11 Ks
AARON Boone was talking Wednesday afternoon about Luis Severino continuing to cement himself as an ace. At this point, the status should be without question.
No matter the opponent, Severino keeps dealing. He stifled the Astros once again Wednesday night in the Bronx, striking out 11 in seven innings in helping the Yankees win, 5-3, and take the rubber game of the series. Severino, who allowed two runs on four hits and a walk, is tied for the American League lead with eight wins and has a 2.31 ERA through 12 starts. The Yankees (35-17) are 11-1 when Severino starts. He was dominant with his slider all night, with eight of his strikeouts coming with the slider in the high 80s and looked unhittable through three innings with seven strikeouts before Jose Altuve singled with two outs in the fourth.
“He is a guy that obviously we feel great on the day he’s pitching and handing him the ball,” Boone said before the game. “Part of that is because we feel like he has a chance to really get us deep into the game. When you’re going through a tough stretch of games, lot of games, whatever we’re in, 14 games in 13 days, these are the days you do look to your ace to try and carry the load and get you deep into the game because not only because he’s really good and gives you a chance to win that night’s game, but also when your ace can preserve the bullpen a little bit, those things kind of add up in the days ahead.”
Severino, who threw a shutout in Houston on May 2, out-dueled Dallas Keuchel, whom the Yanks have now beaten three straight times, including Game 5 of last year’s ALCS. Keuchel was tagged for four runs in five-plus innings and fell to 3-7 overall this season.