New York Yankees right-hander Luis Severino made a good first impression Wednesday on Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz. Unfortunately for the 21-year-old prized prospect, Ortiz made a stronger one.
The highly touted rookie looked sharp in his first career start, becoming the only pitcher in American League history to strike out at least seven batters with no walks and two hits or fewer in his major-league debut. Severino's only significant hiccup - a mammoth 435-foot blast by Ortiz in the fourth inning.
Related: Ortiz welcomes Severino to bigs with deep homer
"That young kid, he's got good stuff, man. I think he's going to be pretty good," Ortiz told reporters after Severino was outdueled by knuckleballer Steven Wright in Boston's 2-1 victory. "I think at the end of the game he was missing location a little bit, but other than that, his stuff is very explosive."
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Severino | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| Wright | 8 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 |
Severino, who earned the mid-season promotion following a dominant run in the minors, topped out at 97 mph on the radar gun, flashed a sharp slider, and retired his final six batters after allowing the homer to Ortiz. He exited after five innings and 94 pitches - 59 of which were thrown for strikes - and trailing 2-0.
"He's got poise. I told you I didn't think his surroundings would affect him a whole lot. We saw that in spring training," manager Joe Girardi said. "I definitely think it's a positive for him and what he could mean for us moving forward."
The hard-throwing Dominican recorded his first career strikeout in the opening frame after freezing Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts with a 91-mph fastball over the outer half of the plate.
(Courtesy: MLB.com)
Severino entered the year as the top prospect in the Yankees organization and 35th-ranked in the majors, according to Baseball America. He proceeded to dominate minor-league opponents in 11 starts at Triple-A, which included a sparkling 1.91 ERA and 0.93 WHIP.
Severino hadn't allowed a home run in more than 64 innings, including all 61 1/3 frames at Triple-A, before Ortiz's blast in the fourth.
