Rothschild: Severino has stuff to recover
Luis Severino showed he wasn’t the savior of the Yankees’ starting rotation when he got knocked around for six runs in 2 ¹/₃ innings on Friday night.
His next challenge will be bouncing back when he gets on the mound and the same traits that made the rookie righthander successful in his first six outings should serve him well going forward, according to pitching coach Larry Rothschild.
“I think he’s got the stuff to put this behind him,” Rothschild said before the Yankees played a doubleheader against Toronto on Saturday. “And we’ve seen his makeup is good, so he’s just got to move forward.”
The injury to his right leg, though, remains a bit of a mystery. He had a wrap on his leg after Friday’s start and said only that he hurt himself at his home.
Manager Joe Girardi didn’t know how it happened, but Rothschild said he was checked by the trainers and that he was OK.
He had not been hit hard in the majors or minors this season be
fore Friday night’s debacle.
Now that the reality of not having Mark Teixeira for the rest of the season is settling in, Girardi is putting his mind to alternatives at first base when Greg Bird needs a day off.
And that day could come soon, with Bird mired in a 1for15 slump.
Ideally, Girardi could turn to a righthanded backup against lefties, but they don’t have a nat ural fit there.
Alex Rodriguez isn’t expected to be back in the field and the switchhitting Chase Headley has some experience at first, but he has shown signs of wearing down.
Girardi said Dustin Ackley is an option, but like Bird, he is a lefthanded hitter.
“I think you have to look at some things,” Girardi said. “Ackley has played there. But we don’t necessarily have someone who has played a lot of first base and is righthanded. We’ll look at things.”
It took a few months, but Rodriguez will be honored in a pregame ceremony Sunday for reaching the 3,000hit milestone.
Rodriguez became the 29th player to get to 3,000 hits when he homered off Detroit’s Justin Verlander on June 19.
Masahiro Tanaka will start Sunday’s series finale, pitching for the fourth time all season on four day’s rest. … The Yankees recalled catcher Gary Sanchez and OF Slade Heathcott from TripleA Scranton/WilkesBarre before Saturday’s doubleheader.