Severino, Yankees win another series against defending champions
If the Yankees and Astros meet again this season, it will come in October.
Through the season’s first two months, the Yankees showed they are up to the task of competing with the defending World Series champs.
They won again Wednesday, 5-3, again on the back of Luis Severino, who has mostly overmatched Houston in two starts this season. On Wednesday, the right-hander gave up just two runs in seven innings and matched his season-high with 11 strikeouts. That came after he tossed his first shutout in Houston earlier this month. Asked if he thought he would see them again in the playoffs, Severino said: “If we face any team, I’ll be ready.” The Yankees have won all but one of the right-hander’s dozen starts this year and Wednesday he outpitched Dallas Keuchel. Severino’s lone mistake came in the fifth, when he surrendered a two-run homer to Max Stassi that gave the Astros a 2-1 lead. The Yankees offense responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning to retake the lead and then gave Severino and the bullpen some insurance with two more runs in the sixth. Gary Sanchez, in an 0-for-19 skid, came up with the critical hit, a two-run single through the right side of the infield in the fifth to give the Yankees the lead for good. It was another night in which Aaron Boone came away impressed by his team’s fortitude. “It’s what I love about our team,’’ the manager said. “We walk out those doors whenever we play thinking we’re gonna be a great team. It doesn’t mean you get the result you want every night.” Against the Astros, it did. Aaron Hicks, hitless in 15 at-bats before an RBI double in the sixth, agreed that it was a statement series and game. “Tonight was one those games we’re here to play,’’ said Hicks, who was in the leadoff spot. “We know what we’re capable of.”
David Robertson tossed a scoreless eighth before Aroldis Chapman provided a slight scare in the ninth. He allowed a twoout RBI double to Stassi to bring up George Springer as the tying run, but Chapman responded with a three-pitch strikeout.
The Yankees’ next challenge will be the 11-game road trip that starts Thursday in Baltimore.
They felt better about that after watching Severino, who retired the first 11 batters he faced before Jose Altuve’s grounder went through the right side of the infield vacated by the shift in the fourth.
The offense got to Keuchel for four runs in five-plus innings.
They took an early lead when Hicks worked a leadoff walk and moved to third on Aaron Judge’s single to left. Hicks scored on Giancarlo Stanton’s sacrifice fly to center.
Mixing in an effective changeup to go with his elite fastball and a devastating slider that returned after a brief absence, Severino hardly broke a sweat before he walked Marwin Gonzalez with one out in the fifth and Stassi later crushed a 2-1 fastball into the visitors’ bullpen in left-center to give Houston a 2-1 lead.
The Yankees rallied in the bottom of the inning with singles by Austin Romine and Judge putting runners on the corners with two outs for Stanton, who fought back from an 0-2 count to draw a walk.
That brought up Sanchez with the bases loaded. The catcher punched a single through the right side of the infield, with Altuve shaded up the middle. It scored a pair of runs and put the Yankees back up, 3-2.
The Yankees added to their lead in the sixth with Didi Gregorius’ run-scoring single through a drawn-in infield. Hicks followed with an opposite-field double that scored Romine to make it 5-2.
They held on for the win, and though Boone cautioned it’s only May, he couldn’t deny his excitement about his ace.
“He wants to be the guy that takes the ball when it’s difficult,’’ Boone said. “He’s at the point where he’s starting to relish these opportunities going up against other elite clubs.”