Luis Severino is hoping Wednesday isn’t his final start of 2024; if it’s not, it means the Mets are headed to the World Series, or, at the very least, in a Game 7 at Dodger Stadium.
Either way, at 33 starts and 194 innings and counting, Sevy’s season has gone a lot farther, both in innings pitched and calendar time, than any he’s had since he was a back-to-back Top 10 AL Cy Young finisher leading the team across town to the ALCS.
“I wouldn’t say I’m surprised, but I’m happy; the Mets have done a good job with me. The trainers are unbelievable, and I learned a lot about my body this year,” Sevy said Tuesday ahead of his Game 3 start. “I'm not the same guy I was five years ago; I understand that I got a bit older, so I need to stick to a routine, even on a day off. I think just following that, sticking to my routine, and listening to the guys here that have helped me, my arm feels good. Every day, I come in like it’s the first game of the season, not worrying about how many innings I got – just worry about what I need to do to feel good.”
Sevy basically missed three seasons from 2019-21 due to injuries, and over the last two years with the Yankees, he threw a total 203 2/3 innings in 41 appearances, numbers he could come close to, or exceed, at some point in the next three weeks.
But, here he is in mid-October, fresh and ready to go and making a pivotal Game 3 start at Citi Field, where he was 7-2 with a 2.96 ERA in 16 starts this year…for some reason.
“I have no idea,” Severino smiled when asked why he was so good at home this year. “I didn’t even realize it until a couple weeks ago. I guess I feel at home here, more comfortable doing my routine – there’s a lot of stuff that we have here that we don't have on the road – but there's nothing that I can point to, really.”
He’s got the home cooking, and he’s got that big-game experience from the Bronx, having started 12 playoff games for the Yankees, including some do-or-die and elimination games.
So, he knew exactly what to do Tuesday to gear up for a game that could put the Mets two wins away from the Fall Classic.
“I’ll just go through some videos, see them take at-bats and the past matchups,” Sevy said. “And then I'm just going to forget everything, go to my house, probably play a a little Call of Duty, and that will be it – don't worry about tomorrow.”