In a week that saw the Yankees play sub-.500 baseball (2-4), the one bright spot was that the youth movement was in full swing with the call-up of a highly touted prospect, Luis Severino. While the offense was on vacation for the week, Severino was called up to fill in for Michael Pineda who landed on the DL 2 weeks ago. Severino would take the mound for his first start against the Boston Red Sox… talk about being thrown into the fire.
While the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry is nearly as crazy as it was 10 years ago, there is definitely a lot history between the two ballclubs that now includes Luis Severino. His start would come in the middle of a 3-game set in The Bronx on Wednesday, August 5. While he would end up with the loss, Severino definitely showed us why he is so valuable to the franchise. He threw 5 innings of 2-hit baseball. Allowing 2 runs (1 earned run), with 7 strikeouts and a 0.400 WHIP. The lone earned run would come off the bat of David Ortiz in the top of the 4th inning.
Severino impressed a lot of Yankee fans during his first outing. He showed poise and command for a guy being brought into a pennant race. His 4-seam fastball had a little giddy-up, averaging 94.5 MPH over the 5 innings pitched. His next start will be tomorrow evening at Progressive Field in Cleveland, when the Yankees start a 6-game road trip.
Honorable Mention:
Justin Wilson (3.1 IP; 0.00 ERA; 7 K; 2 H; 0.600 WHIP)
Mark Teixeira (.218 BA; 1 HR; 3 RBI; 2 R; .280 OBP **Teixeira tied Mickey Mantle‘s MLB record with his 9th 30-homer season as switch hitter**)
CC Sabathia (0-0; 6 IP; 1.50 ERA; 8 K; 3 H; 1 ER; 1.000 WHIP)
Masahiro Tanaka (1-1; 12.0 IP; 3.75 ERA; 8 K; 8 H; 5 ER; 0.750 WHIP)
