Luis Severino’s first two starts since coming off the injured list were strong.
His past two have been the opposite.
Getting hit around by the Dodgers in Los Angeles was one thing, but his performance Thursday against the pedestrian-at-best White Sox may be cause for concern.
Severino certainly wasn’t happy about it, calling his effort “unacceptable.”
Severino, again with his fastball lacking that extra zip, lasted just five innings and yielded three home runs in the Yankees’ 6-5 loss to open a doubleheader in The Bronx.
He has now given up six homers in his past two starts, after giving up only one in his first two outings after missing the season’s first seven weeks due to a strained right lat he suffered late in spring training.
“I’m not too sure what’s going on, but the bottom line is that I need to fix it,” the right-hander said before the Yankees’ 3-0 win in Game 2 of the doubleheader. “This is unacceptable. I can’t go out there and give up three homers every time I get the ball.’’
He did finish well, putting up zeroes in the fourth and fifth after he allowed four earned runs in the first three frames. The four-seam fastball was a major problem against Chicago.
Five of the six hits he allowed came off that pitch, and all three homers. The White Sox swung 18 times at the fastball and missed just once, leading Severino to rely more heavily on his slider and changeup.
He entered the start averaging 96.6 mph on his fastball but was at 95.6 on Thursday.
It was similar in the Dodgers start, when he averaged 95.0 mph on his fastball. In his first two starts, the heater was clocked at 97.3 mph per offering.
“You see the results. That’s my pitch, my fastball,” Severino said. “When it’s not there, I have to rely on other pitches, the changeup and slider. For me to throw those pitches, I have to establish my fastball. … As of right now, it feels fine, it feels good out of my hand. It’s more location than anything else, because if I can throw to the corners 95, 96, I think I can do good.”
His ERA rose to 5.75 after the start, in which he struck out six, walked two and was unable to put away several hitters in the early innings. Of the 86 pitches Severino threw, 55 were strikes.
“Every time I get the opportunity to pitch and you don’t help your team to win the game, it’s disappointing,” he said. “I want to go out there and give my best every time they give me the ball. Not being able to do that the last two outings is really tough. Like I said before, it’s unacceptable to go out there and give up three or four homers every time. I need to get better.”
