A lot has changed since the last time Luis Severino took the mound in a postseason game.
For one, he represented the team on the other side of New York City. For another, he was trying to trudge through an onslaught of injuries and pitch-tipping issues.
Following last year’s disastrous showing, headlined by a 6.65 ERA, the Yankees wrote the two-time All-Star and two-time top-10 finisher in the American League Cy Young voting off.
David Stearns and the Mets pounced, stuck the 30-year-old in their pitching lab, and have reaped the benefits ever since.
Even if the stat line was not the most flattering, Tuesday night’s effort in Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series against the Milwaukee Brewers was his biggest contribution in blue and orange yet.
Severino was touched up for four runs on eight hits through 3.1 innings at American Family Field and fully expected his outing to be done after the fourth inning. But Mets manager Carlos Mendoza kept the faith in his resurging starter, who lowered his ERA by more than two-and-a-half runs this season, and sent him back out there.
“I thought I was out,” Severino said. “[Mendoza] told me I need you today. Whatever you could give me. Let’s go batter by batter.”
After getting some serious help from the Mets’ offense in the form of a five-run fifth inning to go up 8-4, Severino gutted out a clean 2.2 innings, retired each of the last eight batters he faced to get through six, and provided some much-needed rest for the bullpen.
“He was outstanding,” star shortstop Francisco Lindor said. “He had that one inning where things got a little fast. That’s typical ace stuff. Usually, your No. 1 guy goes through that one inning, and if you don’t get to him, he gets tough because he gets better as the game goes on. For him to go six innings, that was extremely important for us.”
It laid the groundwork for a clean finish from New York pitchers, as Jose Butto and Ryne Stanek set down each of the nine Brewers they faced, making it 17-in-a-row to end Game 1 and more importantly, avoiding having to use close Edwin Diaz after he worked each of the previous two days.
“It was a grind since the first inning,” Severino said. “I made good pitches; they were just hitting the ball to good spots. I know we had a good team, and I know I needed to keep competing.”
Tuesday night was a microcosm of the Mets’ season. They got punched in the mouth, dusted themselves off, and roared back to finish the job. It is the sort of resiliency that Severino did not always have when he pitched across town.
But that is what happens when one is keen on rewarding the faith of the entity that gives you a shot.
For more on Luis Severino and the Mets, visit AMNY.com
