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NEW YORK – Luis Severino took the mound in a major league game for the first time since the 2019 American League championship series on Tuesday.
The two-time All-Star, who has battled a myriad of injuries since signing again with the Yankees, stepped into the unknown reliever role, working the final two innings of New York’s 7-1 victory over the Texas Rangers.
“A proud moment for him and for his teammates and for all of us who have seen him go through a lot,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone. “He fought different things and worked his tail to get to this moment.”
He worked a quick eighth, authoring two strikeouts and one ground strike to accompany a double. In the ninth, he allowed a single before ending it with a double play and a flyout.
“I felt a lot of different emotions. But I’m happy to be back, happy to finally help the team,” Severino told the YES network. “I knew after the first pitch it was going to come back to normal.”
He finished with 30 shots, including 19 shots.
“There has to be rust, nerves, stuff, to go in there,” Boone said. “And I thought he did, and I hope it’s a step forward for him to help us here.”
Severino was activated ahead of Monday’s 4-3 win over Rangers, with Boone making it clear he wanted him to start as a reliever. Where it goes from here, an optimistic Boone wouldn’t say.
“I’m not going to limit what it can be. We’ll see,” he said. “He’s a talented person and a great pitcher. I’m not going to limit what he’s capable of.”
Giancarlo Stanton hit his 31st home run in the win, while Joey Gallo added his 38th and Aaron Judge pitched his 36th as the New York offense woke up. It was indeed a feel-good night in the Bronx, despite the Yankees failing to gain ground in the American League wildcard race.
“It felt good to be a part of it,” Boone said of Severino. “There was a certain emotion in his voice, and you can imagine the hard work he put in to get there. It was a good night for him.”
The 27-year-old right-hander underwent surgery on Tommy John on February 27, 2020. He made four minor league games totaling 10 innings for Tampa, Hudson Valley and Somerset, allowing four runs, five hits and a three-step homerun. . and 15 strikeouts.
His rehabilitation was slowed down when he injured his right groin on June 12 during his second minor league appearance for Hudson Valley in Brooklyn. Severino returned to the pitch for Somerset on August 3 and 8, then was struck out of an August 13 outing for Triple-A Scranton / Wilkes-Barre due to tightness in his shoulders.
“The fans always help me, every time I’m there, and I knew we had scored seven points,” Severino said. “So I was pretty calm there.”
A 19-game winner in 2018, Severino signed a four-year, $ 40 million contract ahead of the 2019 season. He was limited by shoulder pain to three appearances in 2019, the first on September 17 and the last. September 28, plus a pair of playoff starts on October 7 against Minnesota in the AL Division series and October 15 against Houston in the ALCS.
“Tonight we’re celebrating it,” Boone added, “and just his trip back to a major league mound.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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