Luis Severino looked poised for another rough October outing in Tuesday’s Wild Card Series opener, allowing two first-inning runs to give the Brewers an early lead.
But the righty settled down, battled through traffic on multiple occasions, then cruised at the end of his outing to allow the Mets to rest their main bullpen arms to put the team in prime position for a potential game two clincher.
Evan, who questioned Severino’s ability to come through in big playoff moments, formally issued an apology to open Wednesday’s show.
“Luis Severino has been maligned in this town for way too long. He’s been maligned in this town as a guy who comes up small in big spots,” Evan said.
“What Luis Severino did yesterday was show balls of stone. There was a chance he was going to get knocked out in the first inning. The Brewers had the bases loaded and one out...he was able to get through the inning without it getting ugly. Then the Mets gave him a lead, and he pitched through trouble.”
Severino had his share of postseason troubles during his years across town for the Yankees, starting with his playoff debut in 2017 when he didn’t make it out of the first inning in the American League Wild Card Game. Fast forward seven years, and Severino looked doomed to repeat that performance, but he collected himself and settled in, saving the Mets from major trouble in game one and beyond.
“This is the difference between pitchers who know how to pitch in the postseason and guys who don’t,” Evan said. “Luis Severino was given a lead last night, and his response was 1-2-3. Luis Severino shut down the Brewers when the Mets needed him the most.
“Six innings and four runs is never pretty...but when you look at the lockdown, shutdown innings he had last night, and the way he was able work in and out of trouble, Luis Severino grew up right before our very eyes. He needed Queens.”