Severino starting not to rush
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — At times, you can see why the Yankees are so determined to give Luis Severino every opportunity to prove he’s capable of being a starter in the majors.
The third inning of Tuesday’s 10-6 loss to the Rays was one of them.
Severino struck out the side, mowing down Logan Morrison, Evan Longoria and Brad Miller in order — all swinging.
Before the game, manager Joe Girardi noted that at age 23, Severino was still young enough to still develop into a starter if he keeps his excitement in check.
Severino made sure he did that — at least for one day.
“I wasn’t rushing to the plate,” said Severino, who gave up a run on two hits — while fanning four — in three innings.
Pitching coach Larry Rothschild worked with Severino before the outing about slowing down on the mound and Severino took the message so much to heart that he wrote on his hat “Be patient.”
It reminded him to “not try to throw as hard as I can,” Severino said.
Gary Sanchez tried to reinforce that from behind the plate and saw an improvement from earlier outings this spring.
“The location of his fastball this time around [was better],” Sanchez said through a translator. “The key for him is to slow down. Even when he does that, he will still throw 98 [mph]. His velocity will not go down and his command is better.”
Instead of leaving his fastball up, Severino was able to bury it repeatedly.
His performance was not without its flaws, as he surrendered a homer to Rickie Weeks Jr. and a double to Tim Beckham, both in the second inning.
“He made a couple of bad pitches, but he stopped it,” Girardi said. “He didn’t let the inning get away from him.”
Overall, Girardi said, “It shows you his ability when he’s right and makes pitches. He can be really good.”
The next step will be carrying it over to his next outing, since the regular season is quickly approaching — especially for pitchers trying to earn a rotation spot.
“The league figured out who he was, which happens to every pitcher and you’ve got to make some adjustments,’’ Girardi said. “We’ve been patient and we still envision him as a starter. Nothing’s telling us he’s not.”