Jose Quintana pitched in the Mets’ game of the season on Sunday. The next day, Luis Severino basically said, “Hold the beer.”
Blink and you’d have missed it, but on this pleasant spring night, Severino accelerated the Cubs’ fast break, and Dansby Swanson’s ball to left field was too high for Francisco Lindor’s outstretched glove. He achieved a no-hitter until the 8th inning.
It was the only hit Severino allowed over 101 pitches. After recording his final out in the eighth inning, he took off his hat to the saluting crowd at Citi Field and left the field. But at that point, the Cubs got their first run — after Joey Wendle made the wrong decision to go for an inning-ending double play instead of homering Nick Madrigal’s late grounder to third base — and the Mets. ‘s victory was now in jeopardy. .
Then, in the ninth inning, Christopher Morrell hit a two-run homer against Edwin Diaz, and the Mets lost 3-1.
That’s downright cruel.
But it does suggest that Severino is back to pitching at a level rarely seen since his heyday with the Yankees, before undergoing chronic rehabilitation following Tommy John surgery and various other injuries. .
“He was probably as good as I’ve ever seen him,” said manager Carlos Mendoza, who spent six seasons on the Yankees’ coaching staff. “It was shocking, especially when he used his fastball inside and out, up and down.”
The calendar turns to May, and Severino has a 2.31 ERA in three straight starts of six or more innings (no small feat for this team) and is a rock in the rotation with at least four weeks left until Kodai Chiga’s return. It becomes.
Chiga took live batting practice in the afternoon as the next step in his shoulder rehabilitation, which he began at the end of spring training. However, the Mets will not play a game until at least May 27, when Chiga can return from the IL.
Until then, and perhaps beyond, 30-year-old Severino will be leading the charge.
“I feel really good,” Severino said. “I think before, when I was a little bit younger, I was thinking too much about out-hitting everyone, and now I’m just focused on out-hitting everyone and getting deeper into the game. I’m in a different position now. Masu.”
The day before, Quintana had struck out Willson Contreras of the Cardinals and talked him into staying in the game to pitch a complete eighth inning. The Mets didn’t have a starting pitcher’s job all season until the seventh inning, but Quintana set the bar even higher.
Fittingly, Severino’s flirtation with history occurred on the two-year anniversary of the Mets’ last no-hitter. It was a no-no for a combination that featured Tyler Megill, Drew Smith, Joely Rodriguez, Seth Lugo, and Edwin Diaz, who were in charge of the Phillies.
Diaz’s date was not lost.
“I was in the bullpen and I knew I was available. It was the same situation as two years ago,” Diaz said.
Brandon Nimmo and Mendoza pointed to the same phase of the game after Severino hit a six-for-69 pitch for the game-winning run as the moment the veteran right-hander knew he was making history.
Severino returned to the mound in the seventh inning and got three outs on just 10 pitches (he hit a plan to Mike Tauchman), giving him the lead over Johan Santana, the only holder of an individual no-hitter in franchise history. The possibility of joining has increased. He didn’t even need 134 pitches.
But in the eighth, Severino walked Michael Busch to give the Cubs a runner on third base, then Swanson singled with a sinker over Lindor’s glove, which Severino said put him exactly where he wanted it.
“[Swanson] I get it,” Severino said. “[Tomas] Nido and I were on the same page all night. He called a great pitch, he called that pitch and I made sure it went in, so it was a great pitch and a credit to him. ”
After Wendle whiffed on a double play in the eighth inning, the Cubs’ first run, Diaz allowed Tauchman to double in the ninth inning and was hit with a 97 mph fastball that Morrell pounded into the left field seats.
Rather than a historic night, it was just one of Monday’s “L’s” for the Mets.
