In Third Place but Armed for a Run at the Top The Yankees held steady as their starting rotation got healthy. With Luis Severino back, and Carlos Rodón on the way, there is reason to expect brighter days ahead.

Luis Severino exhibited a jovial demeanour late Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium. The day had progressed so favourably that he contemplated pitching exclusively in the sunlight. He felt sufficiently powerful to estimate that he could throw his fastball at 103 miles per hour. He was attired for achievement, and he was aware of it.

“Today, while I was walking in there, I observed that I appeared quite distinguished in pinstripes,” Severino remarked, smiling. “I aspire to continue this for an extended period.”

Severino possessed grounds for optimism. The Yankees recently triumphed over the San Diego Padres—a team grappling to align its content with its style—in 10 swift innings in the Bronx. Following another triumph on Sunday, 10-7, they have a 32-23 record, demonstrating resilience after a lacklustre beginning.

Fairly robust, nonetheless. Prior to Sunday, the Yankees were batting at .234 as a club, marking their lowest average in a complete season since Mickey Mantle’s retirement in 1968. They are six and a half games behind first place, trailing Tampa Bay and second-place Baltimore in the competitive American League East, where no teams possess losing records.

However, when Severino pitches as he did on Saturday — where a two-out error in the seventh inning prevented him from achieving a seven-inning, one-run effort — the prospects appear significantly more favourable.Significantly, numerous injuries and deals have yet to transpire throughout the league. However, no lineup would eagerly confront Gerrit Cole, Nestor Cortes, a fully-recovered Carlos Rodón, and Severino in a brief series—particularly with Severino consistently delivering 97 m.p.h. fastballs once more. Domingo Germán, set to return on Monday following a sticky substance suspension, has also performed admirably.

“We have the opportunity to assemble a comprehensive and skilled team that is formidable defensively,” stated Yankees Manager Aaron Boone. “Sevvy is a frontline individual.” When he is on the mound and performing at his peak, he can compete with any opponent and any offence.

The Padres are without star infielder Manny Machado, who has a hairline fracture in his left hand, and they excluded Xander Bogaerts, their prominent free-agent acquisition, from Saturday’s lineup to alleviate a sore wrist. Severino excelled in his improvised arrangement, permitting only one hit—a home run by Fernando Tatis Jr.—and three walks across six and two-thirds innings.

It marked Severino’s second robust performance, having missing the initial 48 games of the season due to an injured right lat muscle. A comparable ailment sidelined him for two months last summer, and he was absent for the majority of the three preceding years — 2019 to 2021 — due to shoulder and elbow issues.

Severino illustrates the vulnerability of power pitchers. During his All-Star seasons of 2017 and 2018, he recorded the highest average fastball velocity among qualified starting pitchers in the majors, at 97.6 m.p.h., as per Fangraphs.