It’s too early to tell whether Luis Severino will be the ace the Yankees planned on him being before his season was turned upside down by rotator cuff inflammation and a severe lat strain that sidelined him nearly the entire season.
But they’ll certainly take what they saw in his long-awaited season debut Tuesday night, when Severino blanked the Angels over four innings in an 8-0 win in The Bronx.
The Yankees opened their final homestand of the season with a victory sparked by a three-run homer from Gleyber Torres in a six-run fourth.
And they inched closer to securing a playoff berth.
Aaron Boone and Severino had been encouraged by his velocity and arsenal in three minor league rehab starts. The biggest question was whether Severino would have his command — and have enough time to fine-tune his stuff in time for the playoffs.
Early indications were good, as Severino routinely hit the mid-90s throughout the 67-pitch outing. He topped out at 98 and made some of his best pitches when he needed to.
He took the mound and immediately fired a 93 mph fastball to Brian Goodwin, but the center fielder worked a 12-pitch walk to start the game. David Fletcher followed with an 0-2 flare to left to give the Angels runners on first and second before Kole Calhoun bounced back to the mound for a forceout.
With runners on the corners, Severino got Albert Pujols to ground into a double play to end the 19-pitch inning.
Severino cruised through the second — and hit 98 mph on the radar gun — before the Yankees took the lead in the bottom of the inning.
He pitched around a leadoff walk to Michael Hermosillo in the third and a single by Calhoun to start the fourth.
In all, Severino gave up two hits and a pair of walks, while striking out four, in four innings.
“Obviously, it’s been a long road for him working his way back,’’ Boone said before the game. “He’s been doing well now for a while. I know he’s been chomping at the bit to get back.”
Severino could have two more starts before the playoffs begin and it remains to be seen if he can get built all the way back up to 90-100 pitches, but he looks ready to provide a boost to the pitching staff just in time for the postseason.
“He’s an elite pitcher,’’ Boone said. “I don’t want to put too much on him right now. First and foremost, this is another big step for him.’’
The offense gave Severino a 2-0 lead in the second. Torres led off with a single to left and moved to second on Luke Voit’s walk. After Brett Gardner whiffed against lefty Jose Suarez, Gio Urshela ripped a single through the left side of the infield that nearly drilled Torres. Torres scored on the play to make it 1-0.
Cameron Maybin then sent a fly ball near the left field corner. Michael Hermosillo dropped the ball, allowing Voit to score to put the Yankees up, 2-0.
In the fourth, they scored six runs with two outs. DJ LeMahieu had an RBI single and Didi Gregorius had a two-run double before Torres’ team-high 38th homer of the year, a three-run shot.
Jonathan Loaisiga, Stephen Tarpley and Chance Adams combined for four scoreless innings of relief.
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