Girardi vows Severino won’t be on short leash
After quick hook in Game 2 start, Yankees pitcher to work like robot
Given that his gyrations on the mound may have resulted in a premature departure from Game 2, New York Yankees starter Luis Severino said Thursday he will keep his body language in mind during Friday night’s potential clinching game against the Astros at Minute Maid Park.
Severino was lifted after four innings in the Astros’ second win of the American League Championship Series despite allowing just two hits, owing to what the Yankees described as concern over shoulder discomfort after he was seen shaking his arm on the mound during the fourth.
During a conference call Thursday, Severino said his plan for Friday was “go out there and do nothing, just throw the ball. I’ll walk out like a robot. Nothing.”
That might not be necessary, since Yankees manager Joe Girardi said on a separate call that he’s inclined to give the righthander a bit more rope in Game 6.
If Severino shakes his arm Friday, Girardi said his reaction will be, “He’s fine, let him go. The bullpen (Wednesday) was really good, so I probably will react a little differently in this situation.”
A range of results
Severino lasted just a third of an inning in the wild-card game against the Minnesota Twins, allowing four hits and three runs. But he went seven innings and allowed four hits and three runs with nine strikeouts in a 7-3 win over the Cleveland Indians in the ALDS prior to his abbreviated start against the Astros.
“That hurt me,” he said of his struggles against Minnesota. “I don’t want to go over there and let my teammates down like I did that day. I learned from that.
“I was throwing a good game against Houston, threw good pitches. So starts like that made me forget about how I had a bad start and to keep getting better.”
Girardi said Severino succeeds when he is able to hold is emotions in check.
“I expect the same thing (Friday),” the manager said. “With the magnitude of this game, we’ll have to watch him closely.
“The big thing is getting through the first inning and not being too hyped up. You have to pitch with your brain, not your arm. You have to be smart, and you can’t try to overpower through situations, because (the Astros) will turn around fastballs. So he has to locate and change speeds.”
Just one win away
With a trip to the World Series one win away, Game 6 will be a unique experience for the young Yankees. After three wins in the Bronx, New York leads in a playoff series for the first time after also battling back from a 2-0 deficit in the Division Series against Cleveland.
“It does feel different,” Girardi said. “We’ve been on a ‘we have to win today, we can’t afford to lose today’ for a number of games. But I still think the attitude will be the same: Win one game. That is what we’ve kind of talked about, and that’s kind of what we’ve stuck to around here, and that’s what you try to do — win a game on Friday night.”
The Yankees have seized a 3-2 series lead despite a .224 batting average that still eclipses the Astros’ .147 mark for the series. Aaron Judge was 4-for-9 in three games in New York with two home runs and six RBIs, and catcher Gary Sanchez had three RBIs in Game 4 and two in Game 5.
“Eventually, they’re going to hit,” Girardi said. “I look at a number of other players that have been through playoffs, and they’ve had their struggles, and all of a sudden they can get hot.
“Everything is magnified when you’re in the playoffs, and two games seems like forever, where if you struggle two games in the season, people don’t say much. But you’re on the big stage, and people expect you to perform every day, and it’s going to be talked about.”