Luis Severino's frustration mounts as he experiences another premature exit against the Baltimore Orioles

Luis Severino missed the first seven weeks of the New York Yankees' 2023 season due to a lat injury and is still virtually out right now. Severino has seemed lost as a starter and is himself unable to articulate why:

“I’ve not been myself,’’ Severino said, after another early knockout Thursday night against the Baltimore Orioles. “I don’t think I’ve ever been this bad of a pitcher my whole life.’’

Severino's problems continued at Yankee Stadium, as he only lasted 2.2 innings in the Baltimore Orioles' final 14-1 triumph. Overall, Severino gave away seven runs on 10 hits and a walk, raising his ERA in nine starts to 7.38.

Furthermore, Severino has a 9.48 ERA over his previous seven starts, giving up 53 hits, 15 walks and 10 home runs in 31.1 innings. And that includes six scoreless innings on June 24 against the American League's finest offensive team, the Texas Rangers.

Severino's 77th and last pitch in Baltimore's seven-run third innings was a 0-2 fastball, which Gunnar Henderson grounded to center for an RBI single.

As the pitching staff becomes better, Severino said he's not worried about perhaps losing his place in the rotation. Nestor Cortes is anticipated to make his way off the disabled list later this month, while Carlos Rodon is set to make his Yankees debut on Friday.

The notion of skipping Severino in the rotation is “not a real question right now,’’ said manager Aaron Boone. “We’ll obviously dive deep here these next couple of days and we’ll continue to try to get him right.’’

Severino made his Major League Baseball debut in 2015 after signing with the Yankees as an international free agent in 2011. After a difficult 2016, he emerged as one of the league's top pitchers in 2017, earning an All-Star selection and placing third in the voting for the American League Cy Young Award.

In 2018, he was also recognized as an All-Star. Due to a number of injuries, he missed the majority of the 2019 and 2021 seasons as well as the whole 2020 season.