Luis Severino’s wild start lasts just third of an inning
Luis Severino of the Yankees walks to the dugout after he was removed during the first inning of the American League Wild Card game against the Twins at Yankee Stadium on Oct. 3, 2017. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Luis Severino’s first pitch in the first postseason start of his career was a called strike at 100 miles per hour.
Unfortunately for Severino, that was the highlight of his short and eventful evening in the Yankees’ 8-4 win over the Twins in the AL wild-card game on Tuesday night.
The 23-year-old righthander lasted one-third of an inning and allowed three runs to the Twins at a stunned Yankee Stadium. It could have been worse if not for some exceptional relief work by Chad Green.
Severino was booed off the mound after manager Joe Girardi removed him from the loser-go-home game after just six batters. But the bullpen allowed one run in 8 2⁄3 innings and the Yankees advanced to face the Indians in the ALDS.
After that opening pitch to Twins second baseman Brian Dozier, Severino threw three straight balls. Dozier then rocketed a 99-mph fastball over the leftfield wall for a 1-0 Twins lead.
Severino then got his only out when Joe Mauer fouled out to third baseman Todd Frazier, who made a nice catch while stumbling at the leftfield tarpaulin.
Jorge Polanco walked on a 3-and-2 pitch before Eddie Rosario lined a two-run home run just over the short wall in right to give the upstart Twins a 3-0 lead.
Eduardo Escobar followed with a single as Girardi got Green up in the bullpen. Max Kepler lined a double into the rightfield corner to put runners at second and third and end Severino’s outing after 29 pitches.
Green, who struck out 103 in 69 innings in the regular season, struck out Byron Buxton and Jason Castro to end the inning and keep the damage to three runs.
“I knew he just wasn’t hitting any spots, and we haven’t seen that all year from him,” Girardi said. “I joked with him, ‘You should be ready on Thursday again. Kind of joked. But I mean, you never know how someone is going to handle it. Some nights you just have an off night. You’re maybe a little bit too pumped up in a sense.”
Severino was off the hook when Didi Gregorius hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the first off Twins starter Ervin Santana. The game went to the second inning tied at 3. The first inning took 45 minutes.
Green struck out the first two batters of the second inning to give him four in a row. He retired Mauer on a fly ball to center for the third out.
Severino’s shortest start this regular season was a 2 1⁄3-inning outing against Houston on May 14. He lasted only three innings against the Twins on Sept. 20. The Yankees won both games.
Severino was the picture of calm when he met the media on Monday’s off-day. In the regular season, Severino went 14-6 with a 2.98 ERA and 230 strikeouts in 193 1⁄3 innings. He made his first All-Star team and was the unquestioned man to take the ball in the wild-card game.
“I just need to focus on my pitches,” Severino said on Monday. “Not think about nothing out of the game, the fans or stuff like that. Just need to concentrate on my glove and mix my pitches and maintain good communication with my catcher and my pitching coach, and I think everything is going to be OK.”
Everything was OK. For one pitch, anyway.
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
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