Luis Severino pitched two scoreless innings in his first appearance in nearly two years after sluggers Giancarlo Stanton, Joey Gallo and Aaron Judge homered as the New York Yankees beat the visiting Texas Rangers 7-1 on Tuesday.
Severino received a loud ovation from the crowd when he entered the game with the Yankees holding a 7-1 lead in the eighth inning.
After missing last season and most of this season recovering from Tommy John surgery, the former 19-game winner made his first appearance since Game 3 of the 2019 American League Championship Series against the Houston Astros.
Severino allowed a two-out double to Leodys Taveras and struck out two in the eighth. He allowed a one-out single to Adolis Garcia in the ninth before quickly finishing up.
Gallo opened the sixth by hitting former teammate Kolby Allard’s four-seam fastball high into the second deck in right field for a 4-1 lead. It was Gallo’s 38th homer, his 13th since being acquired from Texas in July and seventh in his past nine games with an at-bat.
The Yankees (85-67) won their second straight after getting outscored 22-4 in two losses to the Cleveland Indians. They entered the night a half-game behind the Toronto Blue Jays for the second American League wild card and two behind the Boston Red Sox for the first wild card.
Stanton homered in the third when he lifted an 0-1 slider off Dane Dunning (5-9) into the left field seats. Stanton preceded his 31st homer by producing New York’s first run with a groundout in the first.
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In the seventh, Judge connected on a towering drive into the right-center-field bleachers when he hit Allard’s 1-0 cutter for a 7-1 lead. It was Judge’s 36th homer.
Anthony Rizzo contributed an RBI single as the Yankees beat Texas for the fifth time in six meetings this season.
New York left-hander Jordan Montgomery (6-6) allowed one run on four hits in 5 2/3 innings. Montgomery struck out six and walked one in a 93-pitch outing.
Rookie Andy Ibanez had three hits as Texas (55-96) lost for the sixth time in seven games. The Rangers scored their only run on Nick Solak’s fourth-inning groundout.
Dunning allowed two runs on three hits in 2 2/3 innings in his first start since coming off the COVID-19 injured list on Sept. 10 and subsequently making a pair of relief appearances.
Montgomery’s night ended when he allowed a sixth-inning double to Ibanez. Michael King followed with 1 1/3 hitless frames before Severino entered.
–Field Level Media