The Yankees’ main focus Tuesday night was on finding a way to win Game 4 of the ALDS against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium and force a fifth and deciding game.
Yet, they remained adamant that Luis Severino didn’t stray from his normal routine before his poor Game 3 start, despite TBS analyst Ron Darling saying on the broadcast that Severino entered the bullpen at 7:32 p.m. for a game that was scheduled for a 7:40 start and began at 7:42.
Darling alluded to Severino possibly not knowing what time the game started, but pitching coach Larry Rothschild and Severino disagreed with the former Mets pitcher after the Yankees absorbed a 16-1 shellacking and fell behind, 2-1, in the best-of-five affair.
Prior to Tuesday’s game in The Bronx, manager Aaron Boone was asked if he was surprised about the attention the subject garnered and whether it was justified.
“No, now that I have really dug in and have spoken with Sevy at length and Larry at length about it, I have no issue about how he went about it,’’ Boone said before Game 4.
“It’s a little atypical in that it’s a playoff game and you are having [pregame baseline] introductions, but as far as his routine and what he does to get ready, it was very much on par with what he always does as far as the pitches in the bullpen, how he gets ready leading up to the bullpen, a couple of mock hitters. He did all that and sat down.’’
Asked if there was any confusion about the start time, Boone said, “No.’’
General manager Brian Cashman simply said, “He was on routine.’’
According to several voices connected to the warm-up process, a starter usually
warms up off a bullpen mound anywhere from 17 to 20 minutes and some prefer 22 to 20 minutes.
Former Yankees catcher and current YES analyst John Flaherty was very explicit about Severino’s warm-up routine.
“There is no way you can go on a big-league bullpen mound eight minutes before the scheduled first pitch and expect to be ready,’’ Flaherty said.
Curiously, YES sent out Flaherty’s quote to news-gathering outlets.
“How does he know what time I normally go out?” Severino asked of Darling. “I go to the bullpen 20 minutes before the game, I play catch and then I always go on the mound 10 minutes before the game.’’
Prior to a June 10 game against the Mets, Severino was in the Citi Field pen for more than 30 minutes but not on the mound that long.
According to Rothschild, Severino doesn’t do everything in the bullpen to get ready for a game.
“He does a lot inside and comes out a little bit later than most starters but he did the routine that he normally does and he actually warmed up pretty well,’’ Rothschild said.
The subject became an issue when the Red Sox smoked two balls to center field in the first inning that chased Brett Gardner to the warning track where he caught them. The Red Sox scored the game’s first run in the second and two more in the third. After Severino gave up singles to Brock Holt and Christian Vazquez and walked Jackie Bradley Jr., the No. 9 batter, on four pitches in the fourth, he was lifted for Lance Lynn.
Boone was criticized for leaving Severino in too long and not going to somebody other than Lynn, who allowed three inherited runners to score and was charged with three runs and two hits in one-third of an inning.
Severino’s three-plus-inning stint followed a four-inning outing in the AL wild-card game against the A’s in which he didn’t give up a run but was lifted in the fifth after allowing a pair of two-out singles.
The outing was in line with what Severino did in the second half of the season, when he was 5-6 with a 5.57 ERA in 20 starts as opposed to the first half, when he was 14-2 with a 2.31 ERA in 12 starts.