The Yankees have a serious problem, and his name is Luis Severino.
The starter stumbled and then some again on Thursday as the second-place Orioles beat the third-place Yankees, 14-1, in the Bronx. The Yankees had a chance to win their four-game series against their division rivals after taking the first two games, but a Wednesday loss and Severino’s continued struggles resulted in a split.
Severino put himself and his team in an immediate hole, as Gunnar Henderson led off with a home run. The Yankees’ righty didn’t allow any more runs in the first or second innings, but a Baltimore bombardment knocked Severino out before could finish the third frame.
While a would-be strike-three call and some defensive mishaps — particularly from Isiah Kiner-Falefa in left field — worked against Severino, there was no excusing the hurler’s performance. Severino totaled just eight outs while giving up seven earned runs and 11 hard-hit balls. He only walked one and struck out three over 77 pitches.
Albert Abreu, the first man out of the pen, was charged with six more runs.
Thursday’s clunker was hardly an anomaly, as Severino has now allowed 33 earned runs and 53 hits over his last seven starts, a span that includes 31.1 innings. For his season, he’s given up 40 runs over nine starts and 42.2 innings.
For reference, the 29-year-old only surrendered 36 earned runs across 19 starts and 102 innings last season.
While Severino has enjoyed some strong starts this season — he threw six scoreless innings two turns ago — the majority of his outings have been disappointing at best. Severino now has a 7.38 ERA this year.
The Orioles scored seven runs in the third inning before adding five more in the fourth. They pushed another across the plate in the eighth, which went to Wandy Peralta.
Things got so out of hand that Kiner-Falefa, a utilityman, had to pitch for the fourth time this season.
Henderson added a second homer — a three-run shot — off Abreu in the fourth inning and paced his team with five RBI and four hits. Ryan O’Hearn wasn’t far behind, driving in four while picking up three hits.
Adam Frazier also recorded three knocks as the Orioles recorded 20 hits.
While Severino never gave the Yankees a chance, their offense didn’t exactly fight back. The Bombers tallied six hits on the evening while Kyle Bradish logged six scoreless innings for Baltimore.
The Yankees’ only run came with two outs in the ninth when Billy McKinney hit a hard ground ball. First baseman Ramón Urías was charged with an error on the play.
Thursday’s loss was the latest in a line of ugly ones for the Yankees, but the team and its fans will wake up with a reason to be excited on Friday.
Carlos Rodón will make his long-awaited Yankees debut after a forearm strain and a nagging back delayed the start of his season. The left-handed starter, the team’s biggest offseason addition, inked a six-year, $162 million deal with the Yankees in December following two consecutive All-Star seasons with the White Sox and Giants.
“I’m excited to get him back in play tomorrow,” Aaron Boone said before Thursday’s game. “I know he’s, on some level, chomping at the bit to get out there and wants to help.
“But most importantly, I feel like physically, he’s in a good spot to go out there and be Carlos Rodón.”
While Rodón continues to build up at the major league level after three rehab starts, ex-Yankee Jameson Taillon will start the series opener for the Cubs.
Taillon, who signed a four-year, $68 million deal over the winter, is off to a rough start in Chicago. The righty owns a 6.93 ERA this season.
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Source: Berkshire mont
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