Luis Severino feels like the 'worst pitcher in the game' as Yankees fall to Orioles
BALTIMORE — So much for a turnaround for Luis Severino.
And so much for momentum for the Yankees.
Severino had another disastrous outing, giving up six runs before recording an out and never giving the Yankees a chance as they fell to the Orioles, 9-3, to drop the series on Sunday night at Camden Yards.
“Right now, I feel like I am the worst pitcher in the game, no doubt about it,” said Severino, who gave up a career-high nine earned runs across 3 ¹/₃ innings and now owns a 7.49 ERA through 12 starts.
Coming off the kind of game they believed they were capable of playing more of on Saturday night, an 8-3 win, the Yankees (55-50) returned to playing the kind of game that has left them in last place in the AL East.
As such, they remained an inconsistent team with a murky outlook ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline.
Luis Severino allowed seven runs in the first inning of Sunday night’s game. Jason Szenes for the NY Post
Yankees starter Luis Severino (l.) walks off the mound during the fourth inning of Sunday’s game against the Orioles. Jason Szenes for the NY Post
The first-place Orioles (64-41), meanwhile, continued to look the part and dealt the Yankees a series loss on a weekend when Aaron Judge returned from the injured list in encouraging fashion but was given a breather for Sunday’s finale to properly build up his workload.
With the Blue Jays losing earlier in the day, the Yankees missed a chance to make up ground in the AL wild-card standings, remaining 3 ½ games back of the final playoff spot.
Two more challenging series are up next against the Rays and Astros in a potential make-or-break stretch.
“We gotta get back on the horse [Monday], obviously with the urgency of where we’re at in the season,” manager Aaron Boone said.
Without Judge, the Yankees went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base.
They also struck out a season-high 18 times, led by Anthony Rizzo’s five punchouts.
“That’s why we weren’t able to throw more crooked numbers up there — the 18, that’s a big number,” Boone said.
But not even Judge could have solved what plagued the Yankees in this one because of Severino’s latest clunker, which went off the rails with a seven-run first inning.
July has been especially brutal for Severino, a pending free agent. In five starts this month, Severino posted a 11.22 ERA, getting tagged for 43 hits (including seven home runs) across 21 ²/₃ innings.
And that is even after his previous two starts before Sunday had offered hope, as he gave up four runs in 11 ²/₃ combined innings against the Angels and Royals.
Luis Severino throws a pitch during the Yankees’ game against the Orioles on Sunday. Jason Szenes for the NY Post
Giancarlo Stanton reacts after striking out during the Yankees’ loss to the Orioles. Jason Szenes for the NY Post
“I know I can go out there and give us good outings, but right now, nothing that I do is working,” said Severino, who continued to insist he was healthy. “I won’t stop working. I’m going to continue to work and figure out what’s going on. But right now, I feel like I’m not even contributing to this team.”
The way Severino has pitched — he has now given up seven runs or more in three of his past five outings, including a pair of seven-run innings against the Orioles — he is in growing danger of losing his rotation spot when Nestor Cortes returns from the IL as early as the second week of August.
When asked if he could continue to keep Severino in the rotation, Boone did not provide a direct answer.
“Well he’s coming off of two good ones,” Boone said. “We gotta continue to look under the hood and see why that high level of execution isn’t there. Right now, we’re just going to continue to focus and work on that.”
The only saving grace for the Yankees was that Ron Marinaccio and Albert Abreu combined to mop up the final 4 ²/₃ innings after Severino was bounced, saving the Yankees’ high-leverage relievers for Monday’s series opener against the Rays in The Bronx.
Harrison Bader hits a sacrifice fly to drive in a run during the fifth inning of the Yankees’ loss. Jason Szenes for the NY Post
“With this division, we can get hot and teams can get cold,” Rizzo said. “We could be jumping in two weeks. So we can’t lose sight of that. With that being said, there’s less than two months left. We gotta do it.”
Source: New York Post
