Offense continues to be unstoppable, Severino continues to be an ace in Yanks rout of O's

Coming into Saturday’s game, the Yankees had played 11 of their 13 consecutive games against the AL East, and have gone 6-5 in that stretch. They had also scored eight or more runs in three consecutive games. Their offense has been clicking, especially in last night’s win when Aaron Hicks blasted his ninth and tenth homers of the year, and it continued tonight, as the Yanks pounded O’s former ace Chris Tillman. Luis Severino got the start for the Bombers.

Photo via Frank Franklin II of AP

Severino has been, without a doubt, the Yankees’ best starting pitcher this season. As of the beginning of the game, his 2.90 ERA ranked sixth in the American League. He continued to showcase his ace potential in the first inning, where he racked up strikeouts of Seth Smith and Jonathan Schoop. Chris Tillman, on the other hand, has been the opposite. After a few very good seasons with the Orioles, he began 2017 on the disabled list with a shoulder injury, and hasn’t been the same since. That was showcased early, as Aaron Judge absolutely murdered a first pitch fastball for his MLB leading 19th homer of the year. According to Statcast, the ball left his bat at 121.1 mph, which became the hardest hit homer of 2017...breaking Judge’s own record of 119.4.

Photo via Frank Franklin II of AP

That wasn’t all though! Right after the bomb, Matt Holliday doubled, Starlin Castro singled, and then El Gary Sanchez drove them both in with a single of his own. Didi Gregorius then crushed his sixth homer of the year on the next pitch, and the Yankees had put up a five-spot in the first inning on Tillman. That all happened on just 16 pitches, by the way. But that wasn’t even the end of it. After a walk to Chase Headley and a wild pitch, Chris Carter (!!) lined a single to left field, scoring Headley from second. Tillman is...bad.

...And he continued to be bad. With one out in the second, Tillman walked Judge and Holliday on four pitches each, and worked a 3-0 count on Castro. He had thrown 11 straight balls, but Castro blasted the next pitch deep into the left field bleachers for his 11th homer. 9-0 Yanks. Tillman was then lifted and replaced with Stefan Crichton, and rightfully so. His final line: 1.1 innings, 9 runs, 3 walks, 3 homers. Ouch.

Going into the bottom of the 4th, the score was still 9-0. Severino had retired all 12 batters he had faced, and Crichton had worked a scoreless third. That wasn’t the case in the fourth though. Hicks walked, Judge singled, and Holliday belted a three-run homer for his 13th of the year. The Yanks then took a 12-0 lead. After retiring Castro, Sanchez lined a double down the left field line, which effectively ended Crichton’s night. He was replaced with Edwin Jackson, who worked out of the inning without giving up another run.

Photo via Frank Franklin II of AP

Severino walked Trumbo to start off the fifth inning, which put an end to his perfect game hopes. Two batters later, Trey Mancini singled to end the no-hitter, which moved Trumbo to second. Oh well. Sevy rebounded to strike out Welington Castillo, and get a groundout from J.J. Hardy to end the inning unscathed. He had 66 pitches after five innings.

Are 12 runs enough? Of course not. With one out, Brett Gardner singled, and Hicks hit a bloop double into shallow left field that Hardy couldn’t handle. That play was ugly, but Hardy and Mancini were fine after it. Judge then smashed a two run double to left field, giving the Yanks a 14-0 lead. It was still the fifth inning, by the way. After a single by Holliday, Ronald Torreyes pinch hit for Castro and grounded into a double play. He remained in the game at second base.

The Orioles actually got to Severino in the seventh. After a strikeout of Trumbo, Chris Davis drove a ball into the O’s bullpen in left center field to put them on the board, making the score 14-1 Yankees. That would be the last inning pitched by Sevy, and man, was he dominant tonight or what? That pitch to Davis was his only mistake. 7 innings, 1 run, 8 Ks. #ACE

Photo via Frank Franklin II of AP

The top of the 8th inning brought some interesting defensive changes for the Yanks. Gio Gallegos came in to pitch, while Carter moved to right field, Sanchez moved to first, and Romine went behind the plate. That’s an interesting alignment. With one out, Joey Rickard launched a solo homer to left to make it 14-2. That was all, though. 14-2 heading into the bottom of the eighth.

One of the only disappointments of the night: The O’s brought in Mike Wright to pitch the 8th, not a position player. Wright proceeded to hit Torreyes, the first batter he faced. The second batter he faced, Sanchez, smashed his ninth homer into the Orioles bullpen, extending the lead to 16-2. Sanchez really seems to be getting going lately, which is a huge boost to the Yanks. With one out, Headley doubled down the left field line, which made every starter for the Yanks have a base hit. He would be stranded though, as Carter popped out and Refsnyder struck out.  

Tommy Layne came in for the ninth, and he continued to showcase why he should not be on this team. He walked Schoop, who reached second, and then scored on a single by Caleb Joseph. Layne got Mancini to ground out to end the game, and the Yanks won 16-3. It was just an overall great game. The offense killed once again. This team really is something special. The Bombers go for the sweep tomorrow, as Domingo German makes his MLB debut against Kevin Gausman (3-4, 5.86 ERA).

Winning Pitcher: Luis Severino (5-2, 2.75 ERA): 7 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 2 BB, 8 K, 1 HR

Losing Pitcher: Chris Tillman (1-4, 8.01 ERA): 1.1 IP, 9 R, 7 H, 3 BB, 1 K, 3 HR

Notables:

Aaron Judge: 3-4, HR (19), 2B, 3 RBI, 3 R, 1 BB

Matt Holliday: 3-4, HR (13), 3 RBI, 3 R, 1 BB

Starlin Castro: 2-3, HR (11), 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R

Gary Sanchez: 3-4, HR (9), 2B, 4 RBI, 2 R, 1 BB

Didi Gregorius: 2-5, HR (6), 2 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB

Article By: Alex Weir

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