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Marly RiveraESPN Writer
ARLINGTON, Texas — New York Yankees starter Luis Severino was in full ace form at Globe Life Field on Monday night, when he completed seven innings in his longest career no-hit bid.
Severino threw 94 pitches and struck out seven batters in the Yankees’ 3-1 victory over the Texas Rangers.
Miguel Castro, fresh off the 60-day injured list due to shoulder issues, came on in relief of Severino and struck out the first batter he faced, Rangers designated hitter Adolis Garcia. Third baseman Josh Jung then came up and lined a 98 mph fastball just over the reach of infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa for the first Rangers’ hit of the evening.
The Rangers went on to score their first run off Castro on a Kole Calhoun groundout.
New York manager Aaron Boone was seen having an extended conversation with Severino in the dugout after he closed out the seventh inning with a 99 mph fastball for a strikeout. Boone could be seen on the broadcast cameras apparently telling Severino that he could not allow him to continue.
“I was trying to fight him, but in the end, you can’t do anything about it,” Severino said. “He told me, ‘What do you think?’ I said, ‘I’m coming back out there.’ But it was not a great idea to go out there and push it to 115 pitches.”
“The decision would have been if he was through eight [innings] at that point,” Boone said. “Didn’t really want to go more than 90 [pitches] with him. I was going to try and let him finish that seventh inning no matter what. The biggest thing I told him — obviously, he wanted to stay in and go back out there and I think he understood — I wasn’t going to take him to 120, 125, 130 pitches tonight. And that’s where it probably would have had to go to finish something like that.”
This was Severino’s third start since coming off the 60-day IL with a low-grade right lat strain. The 28-year-old had been very open about his disappointment when the Yankees, needing to make several roster moves, transferred him to the 60-day IL in the beginning of August after initially being placed on the 15-day IL.
“I wanted to continue, I wanted to go on,” Severino said. “But it was definitely the best decision, since I am coming off an injury.”
Monday’s performance could put Severino in the No. 2 position in New York’s postseason rotation, behind Gerrit Cole.
“That’s probably up there with the best times I’ve ever seen him throw,” catcher Kyle Higashioka said. “I think that if he would have been able to go nine, I’m pretty certain he would have gotten that no-hitter.”
The veteran right-hander pushed his record to 7-3, throwing 63 strikes versus the Rangers while improving his ERA to 3.18.
“It puts a little damper on the night, honestly,” Boone said of taking Severino out. “It’s not a fun thing to have to do. And he’s out there, doing his job at a really high and special level, and to have to be the one that shuts that down it’s not fun but one you gotta do.”
The performance stole a bit of the spotlight from New York slugger Aaron Judge, who went 1-for-4 on the night. Judge is still in pursuit of his 62nd home run, which would set an American League single-season record and push him past Yankees great Roger Maris.
Severino’s performance brought back memories of a New York no-hitter in the same ballpark last season. On May 22, 2021, right-handed veteran Corey Kluber no-hit the Rangers in a 2-0 victory. Kluber now pitches for the Tampa Bay Rays.
“Sevy was acting normal, wasn’t shying away from everybody. He was himself,” Kiner-Falefa told ESPN. “After the seventh inning, I looked up, and I was like, ‘Wow, OK, we got to make some plays right here.’ He was rolling. But all that matters is that it’s really, really exciting to see Sevy do what he’s doing, given where we’re headed.”
Marwin Gonzalez and Giancarlo Stanton homered in the Yankees’ victory. It was Stanton’s 30th of the season.
Source: www.espn.com