A's Luis Severino Coming Out of the Break Hot After Tweak to Pitch Mix

Luis Severino has made a minor adjustment and he's seeing much better results in the second half

Jul 24, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Athletics starting pitcher Luis Severino (40) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Heading into the All Star break, A's starter Luis Severino held a 5.16 ERA and had lost his last five starts, holding a 2-11 record. His home and away splits have been written about plenty this season, with the righty enjoying more success on the road than he has at Sutter Health Park, so perhaps his first two games out of the break--both on the road--aren't too telling yet.

Still, he has matched his win total from the first half, going 2-0 against the Cleveland Guardians and Houston Astros and giving up a total of seven hits and four runs in 12 innings of work. He has also walked two and struck out 11 in that span.

With his latest two outings, Severino has dropped his road ERA on the year back down to 3.03, while his home ERA stands at 6.68.

After Thursday's 5-2 win against the Astros, Severino mentioned that he'd been shying away from his fastball at times this season. "I think that I found something [on Thursday] that I was missing. I was not using my fastball. My fastball is elite, and I feel like I ran from that pitch all year. I'm using it more and attacking hitters from the start, and its been working."

On the year, Severino has used his four-seamer 25.9% of the time, while his sweeper and sinker have also been above 20% usage, and his cutter was sitting at 17.4%. He'd also mix in a changeup and a slider time and again.

On July 5 against San Francisco, the four-seamer was his fourth-most used pitch. Since that start, he's been using the heater more, with 50% usage and 32.6% in his two starts leading into last night's game. Against the Astros he was throwing 41% heaters, topping out at 99 and sitting at 96.

The only damage done on the fastball was a first inning single from Taylor Trammell to lead off the game, and a seventh inning double to Victor Caratini that put runners on second and third, which ultimately led to Houston's two runs on a sac-fly and a ground out.

It's hard to deny that the pitch is working for him right now, and with the trade deadline still a week away, it may be interesting to see how this new approach for Severino impacts his starts at home. If he's able to go out there on Tuesday night against the Seattle Mariners and shut them down, would that be enough for the team to throw out any potential trade plans they had for him?

If Severino is able to pitch at home more like how he does on the road, that is exactly who the A's would want leading their rotation heading into 2026. Perhaps they wouldn't need as much pitching help, either.

The deadline is in under a week, and while these next six games against Houston and Seattle may not mean anything in 2025, they could be good measuring stick games for the club as they assess where they're at.