Yankees ace completely comfortable carrying the load
You peruse the batting order, one-through-nine, and even on a night such as Wednesday, when Brett Gardner and Greg Bird both sat strategically against Houston lefty Dallas Keuchel, the Yankees are made to outlast a pitching staff.
The concern, though, as the team continues its chase of the Red Sox and a division title that would thus avoid a wild-card knockout scenario, is that this offensive machine too often has to outlast — and outscore — its own pitching staff, particularly the starting rotation that has curled into a conglomerate unworthy of the trust connoted by its components.
But there was no such concern in The Bronx for this one in which Luis Severino responded to the challenge of facing the defending world champions as the ace he has become. It was a no-muss, little-fuss 5-3 victory on a night where Severino’s stuff was so good, early-inning research on perfect games at the Stadium seemed appropriate.
“His stuff … his command,” manager Aaron Boone fairly gushed after the Yanks had finished the season series with a 5-2 edge over the champs. “He was really sharp, really crisp. He mixed in his changeup with the fastball and slider.
“The elite fastball in the mid to upper 90s sets it up. The slider goes forward for so long before a late dive. That’s why he’s an ace in this sport.”
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Severino is 8-1 with a 2.31 ERA, tied with Corey Kluber for the AL lead in victories. The Yankees have won 11 of his 12 starts. He struck out 11 while walking one in seven innings against Houston, one of the K’s coming on a 3-2 change to Carlos Correa that stranded Jose Altuve on first base in the fourth inning with the Yankees on top 1-0.
“I’ve had confidence since last year,” said Severino, who fanned seven of the first nine Astros and retired the first 11 he faced before Altuve bounced one through the right side. “I think the change makes me a better pitcher. [Batters] have to think about a third pitch.”
There are enough professional hitters on the roster, and even stuck in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, to rake one-through-nine in the order and in the line score. You can’t run out the clock on the Yankees. You’ve got to get 27 outs.
But the rules of baseball as they are, Yankees pitchers are also required to get 27 outs. This has been problematic, with so much of the job left to a bullpen that hasn’t quite been as impenetrable as envisioned over the winter. Then again, the starters are leaving an average of about 11 outs a night for the relief pitchers.
Over the past 16 games, Yankees starters had pitched to a bloated 5.94 ERA while lasting an average of 5 ¹/₃ innings per. Subtract Severino’s four outings from the equation and the ERA becomes an even more obese 6.89 at just a tad over five innings per. They’d gone only 8-7 (plus a 5 ¹/₂-inning suspended game to be resolved in Washington on June 18) since their 17-1 spree climaxed on May 9.
In other words, Boone and the Yankees were looking for some relief from their starter in this one. They got it while laying some hurt on Keuchel, the one-time nemesis on whom they laid some hurt in chasing him by scoring four runs in five-plus innings. Indeed, the Yankees have come out on top of this Severino-Keuchel matchup twice this season, the New York right-hander having gone the distance in a 4-0 victory in Houston on May 2.
“I just want to win, compete and give a good game to my team,” Severino said. “They’re a great team. To be able to get the win is very nice.”
Severino’s length provided some respite for the bullpen, with David Robertson tossing a scoreless eighth before Aroldis Chapman closed it after allowing a run in the ninth. It almost seemed like a day off.
“In this stretch where we have 14 games in 13 days, you do look to your ace to carry the load,” Boone said before the final game of the homestand that precedes eight on the road in Baltimore, Detroit and Toronto. “You need him to go deep into the game not only to give you a really good chance to win that night but to preserve the bullpen. That adds up in the days ahead.”
The Yankees are built to outscore all comers. They’d just rather not have to outscore their own pitching staff, as well. Wednesday, Severino made the issue moot.