ST. PETERSBURG — Luis Severino was a big question mark coming into this season. He spent the past three years basically trying to get back on the mound after significant injuries. Even the 28-year old was not sure how he would feel and hold up this year, his first coming into the year totally healthy since 2019.
“I feel pretty great. Even me, I didn’t know I was going to be, but I feel awesome,” Severino said Sunday after taking his first loss since 2019. “I’m doing my work between starts, every five days or every six days. When they gave me one extra day. I feel pretty good.”
He’s looked very good—even in Sunday’s 4-2 loss to the Rays.
Severino allowed a season-high tying four earned runs, but allowed just two hits. He walked two and struck out eight. The right-hander threw a season-high 103 pitches and got 22 swings-and-misses, pretty evenly spread out between his four-seam fastball and his changeup.
The problem for the Yankees and Severino was that the two hits were homers.
Ji-Man Choi homered off him in the second inning. Taylor Walls, who reacted to Thursday night’s loss to the Yankees by saying they are “very beatable,” homered to give the Rays the lead in the fifth.
It was the first time this season Severino has allowed more than one homer in a game.
“Sevy was again really good. Really good,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Choi gets him the other way with the homer—but you know. Otherwise, I thought he was in command. I thought he had a little bit of everything working. He could reach back on the fastball when he needed to mix then obviously his breaking ball, his changeup, he was sharp.”
The nine starts this season match the nine appearances Severino made from 2019-2021. He’s thrown 48 innings and struck out 51. He’s walked 13 and allowed seven home runs.
After battling through a torn lat muscle in 2019, Severino began 2020 with a torn ulnar collateral ligament, forcing him to have Tommy John surgery. His rehab in 2021 was slowed by injuries along the way, but he returned this season a more complete pitcher. His changeup is a real weapon—he threw 30 Sunday and got seven whiffs and four called strikes on it—and he added a cutter.
HICKS SKID
Aaron Hicks’ frustration was obvious Sunday.
After sitting out the first two games of the series with right hamstring tightness, he made the start in center field and went 0-for-4 with a strikeout. He twice came up with runners in scoring position, had good-at-bats and was denied by good defensive plays.
In his last five games, Hicks is hitting .217/.308/.217 with six strikeouts and two walks. Before the game, Boone said he has seen some frustration from Hicks.
“I feel like he’s pressed in certain situations. One of the things Aaron does so well is obviously control the strike zone, and that’s been a hallmark of his success throughout his career. And I think there’s times like he’s wanting to go chase that hit a little bit,” Boone said. “So I’ve talked to you all the time about that can get you in trouble sometimes as a hitter, when sometimes you want it so bad. And then you start playing into the hands of a pitcher, instead of just really focusing on going up there and winning pitches, having a quality at bat and then as you do that, you start to have some success, and that’s where the competence can start to build.”
TOUGH SPOT
Rookie Ron Marinaccio, came in with two on and one out in the seventh and allowed both to score. They were the first inherited runners he allowed to score this season. He issued a bases-loaded walk to Harold Ramirez and then hit catcher Mike Zunino with a pitch. It was his first loss since Sept. 28, 2019.
“Being a little too perfect when they come in and should have been a bit more aggressive and got myself in behind a couple counts , at that point of the game, you never want to just groove one in there when you’re behind on count,” Marinaccio said. “I think it’s been a little bit too perfect and not being convicted with some of those pitches.
The right-hander from Toms River, N.J. has retired five of the seven first batters he has faced this season and has struck out 11 in the 7.1 innings he’s pitched over nine appearances in the big leagues.
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