DETROIT _ It's reached the point where the spectacular has become routine for Luis Severino.
Monday afternoon brought the latest example.
With his club in the midst of a three-city trip and staring at the always unwanted doubleheader, the Yankees ace right-hander, backed by three home runs, shut down the Tigers in a 7-4 victory in front of 28,016 at Comerica Park.
"Obviously, a doubleheader, we put our ace out there first with the idea we're hoping to get some length out of him, and he gives us eight innings," Aaron Boone said. "Just continues to be the anchor of our rotation. In a spot where we need some length, he goes out there and fills up the strike zone. Just another impressive day of work for him."
Domingo German was slated to take the mound in the nightcap for the Yankees (38-17), who mostly cruised in winning their fifth straight, though a sloppy ninth led to Boone calling on Aroldis Chapman for a one-out save.
Severino, who came in 6-0 with a 1.95 ERA over his previous nine starts, allowed two runs (one earned), four hits and no walks over eight innings. The 24-year-old, who improved to 9-1 with a 2.20 ERA, struck out 10, giving him nine career starts with 10 or more strikeout and his fourth such outing this season.
"We know we're getting seven, eight, maybe even nine innings from him," catcher Austin Romine said. "He makes guys look a little uncomfortable in the box. He's aggressive and he's a beast out there on the mound."
Severino, who threw 112 pitches (85 strikes), said the circumstances of the day "was on my mind."
"It's a doubleheader, I knew I had to try and throw six or seven," he said. "I was just thinking about making good pitches."
Remarkably, Romine said Severino didn't have his best stuff, something the pitcher concurred with.
Both felt Severino's command of his fastball and changeup was good from the start, but the slider didn't click until the sixth or seventh, according to Romine.
"Aces, even when they don't have their good stuff, they can still get by because their stuff just plays up," Romine said. "He has an electric fastball, he can throw that a lot and not a lot of guys are going to be hitting it."
Severino retired 10 straight after allowing Miguel Cabrera's one-out RBI single in the first that gave the Tigers (28-32) a 1-0 lead. After Nick Castellanos' two-out RBI single, which followed Gleyber Torres' error in the fifth cut the Yankees' lead to 7-2, Severino again set down 10 straight, this time to finish out his outing.
Torres' 10th homer, a solo shot in the third, tied it at 1. The six-run fourth, which started with six straight hits off overmatched righty Drew VerHagen (0-2), saw the Yankees send 11 to the plate and featured a solo homer by Greg Bird (No. 2) and a three-run shot by Romine (No. 4).
Jonathan Holder allowed two unearned runs, which followed a dropped pop-up by Romine, in the ninth, that made it 7-4. Boone brought on Chapman, who struck out pinch hitter Victor Martinez for his 14th save.
Still, the afternoon was overwhelmingly positive and for the Yankees that came back to one player.
"That's impressive, to just go out there and do that, what he did today, working three pitches, kind of whenever he wants," Bird said of Severino. "That's ace stuff. That's top-line starter stuff. It's fun to play behind."
