FEELING BASHFUL
Yanks blast 3 HRs, Sevy is stellar in win over O’s
BALTIMORE — Luis Severino missed most of the last three years. The righthander battled injuries and only made a handful of appearances. So the Yankees did not know what they had coming into this season. They didn’t know if he’d be as good as he was in 2018 or if he would be able to contribute meaningfully, deep into the season.
Through seven starts, Severino is answering the question. Again on Monday night, he not only showed he still has the talent that made him a Cy
Young candidate in 2018, but he’s a more mature pitcher. He pitched six one-hit innings as the Yankees beat the Orioles 6-2 at Camden Yards.
“Before the game, (catcher Jose) Trevino and I made a game plan. We stuck with that plan. The fastball was really good, breaking balls were outstanding today and also the changeup,” Severino said. “When I can control my fastball and throw my breaking (balls) right and also my change, you know, I can do pretty good.”
The Yankees (26-9) have won two straight, six of their last seven and 21 of their last 25. They have the best record in baseball.
Trevino ripped a three-run home run in the top of the fourth to give the Yankees the winning runs. It was the catcher’s first home run of the season and the first homer by a Yankee catcher this season.
Josh Donaldson hit his fifth of the season in the top of the ninth, his third in the last five games. Anthony Rizzo followed with his 10th and first since April 29. That was also the last time the Yankees hit back-to-back homers.
In the third, Giancarlo Stanton doubled on a line drive to left field, allowing Rizzo to score. Stanton, whose “double” went 387 feet to the new left field, was thrown out trying to stretch to third. The left-field wall was moved back before this season and goes from 333 at the foul pole to 398 in left-center just before the bullpens. Stanton’s double would have been a homer with the old dimensions.
Severino held the Orioles to one run on one hit over six innings of work. He allowed an Anthony Santander home run in the fourth inning. He walked two and struck out seven. Aroldis Chapman gave up the Orioles’ other run, another homer to Santander.
Severino worked out of early trouble when Joey Gallo missed on Cedric Mullins’ fly ball to left for a three-base error. Severino walked Trey Mancini to put runners on the corners, but got a big double play from Gleyber Torres and then got a ground ball out to end the threat.
“It was just so good. I thought he had all his pitches going. I thought he really had some good heaters, sliders and changeup, they’re all a factor. I thought he was in some situations where he needed to make a pitch and he was able to do it,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. Severino pitched just 27.2 innings from 2019 to 2021 because of injuries. He had a torn lat in 2019 and then a torn ulnar collateral ligament in 2020 that forced him to have Tommy John surgery. Coming into this season, even though he had pitched four innings at the end of 2021 and 1.1 in the Wild Card Game, there were concerns about how deep the righty could go into the season.
The Yankees used Jameson Taillon and Corey Kluber, both of whom were coming off injuries last season, as a guide. That would put him at about 120 innings this season, but the Yankees are taking a flexible wait-and-see how he feels approach to his work load management.
“Honestly, I haven’t heard a number uttered. So I would say that that remains very fluid,” Boone said. “Like we picked a spot, when we had the rainouts, we kind of slotted him back. I could see us doing that throughout the summer assuming everything continues to go well when you get a day off. . . maybe just slide him back. Maybe pick a spot where we go short in an outing if we’re set up with an off day and bullpen-wise.
“So, no hard and fast (limit), like we’re not going over this number. We’ll just kind of monitor and as best we can, gauge with where he’s at as his season unfolds, but we’re encouraged with what we’ve seen so far.”