Yankees’ Luis Severino gets brutally honest on ‘frustrating’ season

Jul 13, 2022; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Luis Severino (40) walks off the field after the second inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

The 2023 season has been a nightmare that won’t seem to end for New York Yankees starting pitcher Luis Severino.

Severino had a brief reprieve from the horror after throwing his best game of the season in a June 24 shutout against the Texas Rangers. He allowed just five hits and two walks across six scoreless innings to lead the Yankees to a 1-0 win.

But after tossing that gem, Severino had arguably his worst outing of the year against the St. Louis Cardinals to start July. He allowed a season-worst nine runs on Saturday, with seven of them earned in the 11-4 loss.

Following the contest, Severino addressed not just the single-game result, but the discouraging body of work he’s had throughout the entire campaign so far.

“This whole year has been concerning for me,” Severino told reporters after the game, via Max Goodman of NJ.com. “I want to be able to go out there and help my team. That’s frustrating that I can’t do that.”

Apart from a couple of injury-plagued seasons, Severino has been one of New York’s top-shelf starters since 2017, with two All-Star nods and a handful of Cy Young votes since then.

This season, the Yankees right-hander is sporting a 6.30 ERA through eight starts, which would rank as his worst by far in his eight seasons with the Yankees.

Severino has allowed three or more earned runs in five of his last six games, bookended by two brutal outings in which he allowed seven earned runs apiece. But for him, there’s nowhere else to go but forward.

“Right now, I’m not in my best moment,” Severino continued. “I can’t make excuses. I just need to figure out a way to be consistent and get people out.”