Severino gets settled in, eyeing mound rebound
TAMPA , Fla. — It looked as if Luis Severino’s rocky camp would continue Tuesday after the pitcher surrendered a leadoff homer to Detroit’s Kerry Carpenter, but the Yankees right-hander recovered for his best start of the spring.
“I need to stop giving up homers,” said Severino, who allowed one more first-inning run to the Tigers before settling in. Detroit didn’t score off him after that, and Severino struck out nine over four innings while allowing four hits and one walk on 74 pitches in a 6-3 Yankees win.
Severino’s slider looked the best it has all exhibition season. He threw the pitch 42% of the time and used it to induce five whiffs. His fastball, used at a 39% clip, added six more.
“I thought it was really sharp, really good,” Aaron Boone said of the slider, adding that he saw that late disappearing bite that Sevy’s known for.
“Life was there with the heater. A lot of swing and miss. Good day.”
Another reason for Severino’s rebound: he stopped calling his pitches after the first inning. Severino operated his own Pitchcom during the initial frame, but Jose Trevino, back from wrist inflammation, took over from there.
“I suck on that,” Severino said, adding that he’ll let his catchers handle Pitchcom duties during the season. Boone noted that he’s in favor of that approach.
Trevino playfully said that Severino “threw the ball well — after the first.”
While Severino, who owns a 9.00 ERA this spring, was satisfied with his overall start, he did take issue with a fourth-inning pitch clock violation that handed Detroit’s Austin Meadows a free pass on a 3-2 count.
“That was stupid,” the hurler said. “I saw the clock and it was still two and I started doing the windup. Maybe it got to one.”
Donaldson finds something: As soon as Josh Donaldson finished his first round of batting practice on Tuesday, Boone pulled the third baseman aside to deliver an emphatic message.
“I said, ‘That’s it right there,’” the manager recalled. “I was like, ‘Don’t get married to the result if you don’t get a result today. That’s the move you want,’ and obviously, he got results today, which is always good.”
Boone’s initial reference related to Donaldson’s mechanics during batting practice, while the results the skipper mentioned referred to the two home runs the 37-yearold proceeded to hit in the Yankees’ 6-3 spring training win over the Tigers. Donaldson belted his second dinger of the spring, a solo shot, in the fourth inning. His third, a three-run blast, came in the sixth frame.
Backstop mixup: Those tracking the Yankees’ Tuesday lineup became concerned when the initial order didn’t include Jose Trevino, who was expected to return from a wrist injury and catch. The Yankees posted a lineup card without Trevino in the clubhouse, only to then tweet one that included him. The team then tweeted a revised lineup without the backstop, only for Trevino to tell reporters “I’m playing today.” He ultimately started behind the plate. Those invested in the confusion can follow it here.
Boone explained that, coming off an off day, he wanted to take the pressure of a definite start off Trevino before having the chance to check in with him.
Trevino added that he feels “really good” following the injury.