The Yankees spoke confidently Monday on the eve of their showdown against the Twins in the American League wild-card game, and the pitcher they're sending out has a lot to do with why.
"I feel good about our chances," Brett Gardner said. "I like the fact we get to throw Luis Severino out there tomorrow. He's been pretty darn good this year."
Severino, who was dropped from the rotation in 2016 and not awarded a spot in this year's rotation until the final days of spring training, emerged as the Yankees' unquestioned ace. Severino, with a high-90s fastball that occasionally touches 100 mph, a wipeout slider and refined changeup, went 14-6 with a 2.98 ERA, including 9-2 with a 2.28 ERA over 14 starts after the All-Star break.
The 23-year-old right-hander, who made his first All-Star team, allowed no more than one run in an MLB-best 16 of his 31 starts. He also completed at least seven innings 14 times, fourth in the big leagues, and finished fourth in the AL with 230 strikeouts. If not for Corey Kluber and Chris Sale, Severino would have been a Cy Young favorite.
"He's been dominant," Aaron Judge said. "He's always getting in good counts. Every time I look up, it's always 0-and-1, 0-and-2. He's never falling behind a lot of hitters. When you've got his repertoire and his stuff and you're getting ahead of guys like that, good things will happen. He just dominates hitters."
It did not come easily for Severino. He electrified after debuting in August 2015, going 5-3 with a 2.89 ERA. Big things were expected in 2016 but Severino flopped, demoted to the minors by mid-May after starting 0-8 with an 8.50 ERA. He rebounded late last season with great work out of the bullpen, but he entered spring training with plenty of question marks.
Severino took one of the two open rotation spots and hasn't looked back. The biggest difference compared to last year was better fastball command and a changeup he's developed into an out pitch. It's the same pitch Severino admitted he abandoned last season because he had lost confidence in it.
"My changeup was a big step this year," he said.
Dellin Betances said Severino's changeup has given him "three plus-pitches," and that he's noticed a big difference in overall demeanor. "He's just composed, confident," Betances said. "He relishes this opportunity."
With the Yankees' deep and effective bullpen, Severino figures to have a short leash, but Joe Girardi said that won't necessarily be the case. "I'm going to watch the swings and the at-bats," Girardi said. "As long as he's continuing to do his thing, I'm not going to pull him too early."
Severino will be opposed by Twins right-hander Ervin Santana, who went 16-8 with a 3.28 ERA. In a loss at the Stadium Sept. 18, Santana allowed two runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings. It was a good outing but not representative of how Santana has pitched in his career against the Yankees _ 6-10 with a 5.66 ERA in 20 starts.
This is not, by a long shot, similar to the 2015 wild-card game when the Yankees faced Astros lefthander Dallas Keuchel, who had dominated them twice in the regular season.
"It helps when you've had success off of a guy," Gardner said. "Dallas Keuchel had a lot of success off of us and it continued in that wild-card game. Tomorrow the little bit of success we've had off of (Santana) hopefully will help us."
