Yankees Failed to Punish Old Friend Luis Severino This Time Around

In 2024, a year after being dumped by his old team and seeing a career resurgence on the other side of town, Luis Severino had a strong assessment of the New York Yankees. He said they only had two good hitters. Severino never faced them with the Mets, but he finally got his chance in 2025. The results showed a different story from his emphatic declaration the year prior.

“Right now, you only have two good hitters”

- Luis Severino on the Yankeespic.twitter.com/MLItsQy4qo
— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) July 19, 2024

In Severino's first two starts against the Yankees, he pitched 7.2 innings and allowed 13 earned runs. In their first meeting, he coughed up eight earned runs and was out of the game before the fifth inning.

It seemed as if a lot of the same would happen the third time around. The game started with three straight singles by Trent Grisham, Aaron Judge, and Cody Bellinger. The Bellinger hit drove in Grisham, accounting for the Yankees' first run of the game.

Cody Bellinger bloop knocks in Grisham! pic.twitter.com/cD63ztQEXW
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) April 8, 2026

Following two straight strikeouts, Jazz Chisholm Jr. walked, loading the bases. J.C. Escarra kept the train rolling with a walk of his own. That drove in the second run of the game, before the rally ended with an Amed Rosario strikeout. He couldn't save the game on this night.

It looked like the Yankees were going to be pouring on runs. What happened, instead, was Severino settled in. He looked more like the Sevy of old, despite failing to pitch into the sixth.

In 5 innings, Severino struck out seven. He walked five batters and allowed four hits, and still, came out practically unscathed despite a rough start to the game.

"We scored two [and tried to] make it tough on Sevy, but we just couldn't break through," Manager Aaron Boone said, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. "Then they held us down. It's just one of those nights where we didn't do enough, especially during the second half of the game, offensively."

Boone gave credit to his old ace after the game.

"Sevy has great stuff, and he didn't flinch. It's one of those areas, sometimes, [where] guys can fold a little bit," Boone continued. "But credit to him. He buckled down. He didn't give in at all. He was able to work around some walks, but ultimately we couldn't get that big hit to finish it."

Dark Nights

The night was reminiscent of one where the Yankees couldn't crack another former New York ace. In April 2021, Matt Harvey took the mound for the Baltimore Orioles. It had been a while since he lived up to that Dark Knight moniker, but, for that game, he shut the Yankees down.

Harvey dominated, allowing one run through six innings. It felt like Severino drank from whatever fountain of youth Harvey did that night. There's something about former aces and April that is a kryptonite to the Yankees, no matter what year it is.

Ice Cold Bats

It was bad enough the Yankees couldn't finish off Severino. They had done so in the past with relative ease. Despite Severino being done after the fifth inning, the Yankees had a shot at cracking that Athletics bullpen, and all they needed was one run. They couldn't even do that.

In fact, the Athletics pen was lights out. They struck out eight, walked just two batters, and they didn't allow a single earned run. The Yankees' bullpen was only slightly worse. The Athletics got to David Bednar with a sac fly.

The night was emblematic of where the Yankees' lineup is as a whole. Among Yankees with at least 30 plate appearances, four have a wRC+ above 100. That's Ben Rice, Giancarlo Stanton, Cody Bellinger, and, of course, Aaron Judge.

The rest of the lineup is a who's who of struggling sluggers, hoping to gain their footing. Guys like Jazz Chisholm and Trent Grisham haven't performed in the early parts of the season. Then there are the likes of Ryan McMahon and Jose Caballero, who have never been great hitters, and that's playing out to start the year.

It's still too early to make any declarations about this team one way or another. One thing is clear, though. The Yankees' lineup, which was supposed to be a strength, hasn't been on par with the rotation and bullpen, which have carried them thus far.

If all three can ever get firing at once, they'll be one of the deadlier teams in the American League. Their 8-3 record already has them among the league's best for a 2026 season in its infancy.

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