NEW YORK — Luis Severino dropped his glove and immediately grabbed his left side, grimacing after his final pitch Friday night. This was also probably his last as a Yankee.
Severino is still in extreme discomfort hours later and is scheduled to undergo a diagnostic test on Saturday, another unwelcome addition to the right-hander’s long injury history. The Brewers pulled away with six late runs, handing the Bombers an 8-2 loss at Yankee Stadium.
“I feel like someone shot me,” Severino said. “It’s a deep, sharp pain.”
On Saturday, the Yankees placed Severino on the IL for 10 days, pending further testing. Right-hander Ron Marinaccio was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
With the exception of Willie Adams’ tying homer in the fourth inning, Severino pitched well on Friday, and has shown improvement since he declared himself the Majors’ “worst pitcher” a month ago. Severino said he experienced no discomfort at his previous pitches, and catcher Austin Wells noticed no problems before the ill-fated pitch.
“I didn’t know what was going on,” Wells said. “I thought he was going to throw up at first, then he was holding his side. Not good.”
Jason Dominguez hit a two-run homer, his fourth big league blast, as the Yankees fell below .500 at 70-71 — now eight games out of third place in the American League Wild Card with 21 games to play. The 20-year-old Dominguez is the youngest Yankee to homer and steal a base in the same game since Mickey Mantle in 1951.
But any enthusiasm for The Martian’s performance was tempered by the sight of Severino hunched over at the base of the hill, stunned by an injury that seemed to come out of nowhere.
“I feel terrible for him,” Wells said. “Even tonight, he did a great job. I don’t think they saw him as good tonight. I was looking forward to getting him in there deep. He’s had struggles this year, and he’s worked hard to get back to what he does best. It’s really unfortunate, the timing of it.”
After becoming a free agent after this season, Severino’s chances of ending a difficult season on a positive note are now in jeopardy. His last pitch of the evening came when Bryce Turang belted a single to center field leading off the top of the fifth inning.
Severino was an American League All-Star in 2017 and 2018, and there was only so much optimism about his future during the spring of 2019, when he finalized terms on a four-year, $40 million contract extension. The club also announced a seven-year, $70 million extension for outfielder Aaron Hicks that month, anticipating both players to be key figures in their future success.
Neither deal worked out. Hicks remains on the Yankees’ tab, except at the league minimum, and appears to be playoff bound with the AL East-leading Orioles. Severino missed most of the 2019 season with a back strain, then underwent Tommy John surgery on February 20.
Severino has also missed time with hip, groin and shoulder issues. When the Yankees picked up his $15 million option last November, general manager Brian Cashman said at the time that the decision was an “easy yes.” Any future considerations regarding Severino won’t be very clear.
“There’s a lot at stake for him,” manager Aaron Boone said. “He’s been through a lot over the past few years [with] Injuries, and when he pitched, he pitched really well. This year, when he came back, he really had a long struggle when he was healthy for the first time in his career.
“It seems like he’s really started to turn a corner here over the last four weeks or so, where he’s been throwing the ball a lot better. I thought he was throwing the ball well tonight. It sucks; you feel it. We’ll just see what we have.”
William Contreras, Carlos Santana and Adams contributed RBI hits in the seventh, charging to Johnny Brito and Jonathan Loisiga. Greg Weissert saw three runs on his clock in the eighth. The Bombers have allowed 18 runs in the past two games after allowing just 20 in the previous nine (Aug. 28-Sept. 6).
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