Pain relief

Struggling starter Severino called up to aid Yanks’ pen

BALTIMORE — In an otherwise horrific season, Luis Severino had two straight impressive relief performances for the Yankees at the end of July.

He didn’t give up a hit, walked just a pair and struck out five in four innings — a far cry from the ugly numbers the right-hander otherwise had in the majors this season.

Severino is expected to be among those called up from the minors in time for Friday’s series opener against the Orioles at Camden Yards after rosters are expanded and the Yankees hope he can help not only their bullpen, but also himself.

“For the short-term here, that’s what we need,” pitching coach Larry Rothschild said of using the righthander as part of a bridge to get to closer Dellin Betances as the Yankees try to make a run at the wild card. “And we think it will be good for him and for us.”

Not much has gone right for the 22-year-old who was expected to be a major part of the Yankees’ rotation this season after bursting onto the scene in August of last year

He’s 1-8 with a 7.19 ERA, struggling with fastball command and changeup in both The Bronx and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

But Joe Girardi and Rothschild said they saw a different version of Severino when they watched the tape of him pitching 2 ¹/3 shutout innings Tuesday against Buffalo.

“He was throwing hard and the location was good,” Rothschild said. “We’re at that point in the season where he’s started enough and had time to develop his stuff at Triple-A. Now, the best way for him to get his confidence back is getting something out of this year. And that means helping us out of the bullpen.’’

Girardi has mixed and matched out of the pen since Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman were dealt before the trade deadline.

And while they have gotten some solid performances out of the remaining relief corps — especially in Wednesday’s dramatic 13-inning victory over the Royals — they could certainly use another arm.

Rothschild insisted the move was temporary.

“He’s too young to say he’s not a starter,” Rothschild said. “That’s not in my mind.”

For now, though, Severino has a month to finally contribute to a lost season in which he was expected to pitch 200 innings for the Yankees.

How he finishes 2016 could have a bearing on what his future holds.

“It can work different ways,” Rothschild said. “Different guys handle things differently. Who knows how he comes back after the winter? But we think he can contribute to us trying to win now.”