Without an acquired ace and with an injured Kodai Senga, the Mets’ clearest route toward a shutdown, Game 1 starter in the postseason would be for 2024 Luis Severino to morph into 2018 Luis Severino.
On Wednesday, Severino pitched too much like the 2023 version.
On the other side of the trade deadline, in which the Mets brought in Paul Blackburn but not a star such as Blake Snell or Tarik Skubal, Severino did not inspire immediate confidence that the good pitcher he has settled into will grow back into the great pitcher he was years back in The Bronx.
The strong righty lasted just three innings in which he let up six runs in an 8-3 loss to the Twins in front of 28,875 at Citi Field, where the Mets finished off a stretch of 13 straight games and couldn’t finish off a series sweep.
After Thursday’s off day will be a 10-day, 10-game, four-city trip that begins Friday in Anaheim. Blackburn will get the ball for the start of that series and join a rotation that also includes Sean Manaea, Jose Quintana and David Peterson.
None holds the upside that Severino’s arm can tap into.
“We’ve got a good group of guys who’ve been in this situation before, who’ve been in the playoffs before,” Severino said of the rotation. “This is what we have, and we’re going to go out there and fight.”
No one will question the fight, but there are questions about how much Severino still has in the tank.
He has been a bargain signing and pitched solidly, if not spectacularly, while continuing to add innings to an arm that might be showing its mileage.
On Wednesday, manager Carlos Mendoza became concerned when he saw 93 and 94 mph readings on Severino’s fastball. He checked on his starting pitcher, who said he was fine.
The trainers checked on Severino, who continued saying he was fine. His average four-seamer was down nearly 1 ¹/₂ miles per hour.
His slider, which had averaged 86.9 mph this season, dropped to an average of 84.1 mph in 10 uses.
The lower velocity translated to worse results, serving up two home runs, six hits and two walks while recording just nine outs.
“My next start, I know my fastball’s going to be there,” Severino said after his shortest start of the season. “It’s just one of those days. It’s a long season, so you’re going to have some outings like that.
“I don’t expect to be 97, 98 [mph] every outing. You’re going to have some struggles through the season, and it happens to be today and hopefully — not hopefully — I need to get better, and it will get better.”
Severino is up to 123 ²/₃ innings after throwing 89 ¹/₃ in his disastrous 2023 and a total of 120 innings from 2019-22, when he dealt with various injuries.
It is possible that Severino and the Mets are right, and that he will bounce back well from one dud in a long season in which his ERA is 3.93. But his velocity — and corresponding results — will be worth monitoring as his workload keeps climbing.
“Just one of those days where he didn’t have it,” Mendoza said of an afternoon that began heading south in the second inning.
Byron Buxton launched a 435-foot bomb into left-center to get the Twins started.
They then teed off against Severino in the third. Minnesota sent eight men to the plate in that frame, including four straight hitters driving in runs.
Trevor Larnach’s RBI single tied the game at 2-2. After Larnach stole second, Max Kepler’s single to right gave the Twins the edge.
Royce Lewis’ well-placed double down the third-base line added some cushion, and Matt Wallner’s demolished homer bumped the lead to 6-2.
“I think the only thing that was OK today was the fastball,” said Severino, who relied on the lesser heater because he couldn’t rely on much else. “Changeup was not there, slider, sweeper was not there.”
Severino finished the third inning but was replaced for the fourth, watching the Mets (57-51) drop just a third game in their past 10.
A Mets offense that had come alive was mostly put to sleep against Pablo Lopez and the Twins’ bullpen, who combined to give up just six hits (and just four entering the ninth), the runs coming from a Mark Vientos two-run home run and a ninth-inning ground out from Francisco Alvarez.