Just like the Yankees, Luis Severino has had a season to forget.
On Wednesday, though, the right-hander provided a glimpse of what he’s still capable of as he heads towards free agency for the first time after this season.
Severino, who entered with a 7.98 ERA and a 14.18 ERA in his previous four outings, blanked the Nationals over 6 ²/₃ innings in the Yankees’ 9-1 win in The Bronx.
He allowed just one hit, a fourth-inning single to Keibert Ruiz.
Before the game, general manager Brian Cashman pointed to Severino as one of the disappointments of 2023, noting that even since his return from a lat strain, the 29-year-old has fallen far short of expectations.
“It’s been a long time since I found ways to help the team … get some wins,’’ he said. “I know the stuff I have and the pitcher I can be.”
Severino left to a standing ovation from the Yankee Stadium crowd.
“That was great,’’ he said. “I’ve been hearing a lot of boos. It’s a good thing to have the fans cheering for me.”
His four-seam fastball and slider, typically very effective, have been hammered by opposing batters most of the season, leading Severino to call himself “the worst pitcher in the game,” following a career-worst performance on July 30, when he gave up nine runs at Baltimore.
While he struck out just two on Wednesday, Severino was in command from the start and lowered his ERA to a still ghastly 7.26.
“It’s been a tough year, but he’s never not kept fighting,’’ manager Aaron Boone said. “Hopefully after an outing like this, he’ll start to build and put some together and… finish the season strong.”
Despite the lack of production from the offense under new hitting coach Sean Casey, Cashman said he has no regrets about making the first in-season coaching change in his 26-year reign with the Yankees, when he fired Dillon Lawson at the All-Star Break.
Cashman said Casey, a three-time All-Star with a career .302 average, has connected with the players better than Lawson was able to.
“No, the [offensive [numbers] haven’t changed [since Casey took over], but one thing I was able to determine was how much — from my touch points and connections going on with Dillon, … was how much the coaching was transferring over,’’ Cashman said. “We had a lot of success with Dillon’s programs. But at this level, it’s a little bit different. I don’t care whatever manager or coach you are, you have to get player acceptance or buy-in and that connectivity wasn’t there.”
On bringing in Casey, Cashman said: “We just needed to find somebody different. Sean is connecting with these guys. We’re hoping for better results.”
The Yankees entered Wednesday tied for 24th in the majors in runs scored after finishing second, only to the Dodgers, a year ago.
“It’s been a pretty big [injury] storm that’s hit us this year, but we led the [American] League in runs scored last year. The roster is a little different, but we need to be better than what we’re doing,” Cashman said.
Jasson Dominguez has spent less than a week with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, but Cashman didn’t rule out a potential promotion to the majors for the 20-year-old before the end of this season.
“We’ll see,’’ he said when asked if Dominguez had a chance to reach The Bronx in 2023.
“He’s had a nice year,’’ Cashman said. “So far, he’s doing everything he needs to do. … We certainly like and value him as a prospect. We’ll continue to evaluate what our needs are and options are in 2023. I can’t say if it’s realistic or not.”
Anthony Rizzo continues to make progress in his comeback from the concussion that has landed him on the injured list twice.
He participated in batting practice and fielding drills prior to the game Wednesday.
Rizzo said he feels “a lot more natural” with baseball activities than he did in his first comeback from the concussion and is confident that when he does return, the head injury will be permanently behind him.
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