Luis falters in loss to Jays after fantastic Fenway start

FIVE DAYS ago at Fenway Park, Luis Severino officially seemed to stamp himself as an ace in the making. Again. Monday night was a reminder it won’t be that easy. Again. A can’t-miss kid one year, colossal bust the next, Severino has made important strides this season, but it’s still practically impossible to forecast with any certainty just where his career is headed.

Meanwhile, the Yankee brass waits and watches patiently, knowing the 23-year old righthander is vital to its plans of building a championship team, with so much uncertainty about the starting pitching in the coming years.

So while Monday started out as more a celebration of Aaron Judge, with Joe Girardi comparing him in demeanor and personality to Derek Jeter, it turned into a night when it was fair to wonder whether the Yankees have the pitching to sustain their hot start over the long season.

Coming off that gem against the Red Sox last week, Severino wasn’t nearly as sharp on this night, leaving too many fastballs in the middle of the plate, and paid for it in a 7-1 loss to the Blue Jays.

The good news for the Yankees was that even in defeat, the young righthander continued to show signs of maturity on the mound, pitching out of trouble, often with his off-speed stuff to keep the game at 2-1 into the sixth inning before the roof caved in on him.

And so while Joe Girardi summed up Severino’s night by saying, “he was just a little off,’’ he also was encouraged from a big-picture standpoint.

“I see a lot of growth from this kid,’’ he said.

In fact, had the Yankee offense made its usual noise of late, Girardi might well have pulled Severino before the Jays got to him for thee runs in the sixth, and who knows how the game might have gone.

Instead, it was a rare quiet night at the Stadium this season, as the Yankees’ home record fell to 10-3, and for a change, the highest-scoring offense in the American League failed to deliver fireworks.

Judge did give the crowd a couple of moments to savor, singling home the Yankees’ only run, then later nailing Jose Bautista at third base with an eye-popping throw.

His RBI single was a liner to right field that was appropriate on this night, recalling the many slashing hits to the opposite field by Jeter during his career.

Indeed, Girardi ramped up Judge-mania a bit during his pregame press conference, saying the rookie reminded him of the young Jeter the manager played with in the 1990s — wellspoken, always smiling, enjoying the game.

Judge seems unassuming enough not to be affected by such heady praise, and in response made a point to say, “There’s only one Derek Jeter.’’

Even so, his at-bats are generating palpable buzz at the Stadium, as the crowd comes to life, anticipating another moon shot.

As a whole, the Yankee offense has brought the Stadium back to life this season, but on this night the bats were held in check by Marco Estrada and his 79-mph change-up.

It made for quite a contrast, Estrada finessing the Yankees to death with his off-speed stuff, and a fastball that topped out at 91 mph, while Severino’s 98 and 99-mph fastball was making Austin Romine’s glove pop loudly enough to echo all over the ballpark.

Unlike his start against the Red Sox, when he had everything working and seemed to dominate a good lineup with ease, Severino was in trouble from the start on Monday, trailing 2-0 after two innings.

A year ago that probably would have led to a short night, as his answer to struggling usually was to try and throw the ball by everybody.

“He forgot to pitch sometimes,’’ was the way Alex Rodriguez put it, while working as a spring training instructor in early March. “There’s so much talent there. I still think you’ll see him turn into something special when he learns to trust his slider and his change-up.’’

For the most part, those words have proven prophetic this season. Unlike his heady phenom days late in the 2015 season, Severino has looked more like a finished product, utilizing his slider and change-up to keep hitters from cheating on the fastball. s such, his start in Boston appeared to elevate him to a new status.

As an AL scout put it: “Last year he pitched like a kid who didn’t have a clue. In Fenway he pitched like a guy with great weapons who knew how to use all of them.’’

Of course, veteran pitchers often say the greatest test is finding a way to pitch well when they don’t have their good stuff or command.

Severino didn’t pass that test Monday night. The Yankees will need him to do so at some point if their surprising April is going to lead to something other than more Judge-mania.

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