HOUSTON -- Luis Severino’s latest quality start included the 1,000th strikeout of his career. He only wishes it had come sooner.
“I feel like that number should have been done years ago,” said the right-hander, who was in position to get a win Wednesday before the Astros rallied against the A’s bullpen and completed a two-game sweep with a 5-3 victory at Daikin Park. “I haven’t been healthy, but now I am. I’m glad that I’ve done it. A lot of guys can’t get to that number. That means you’ve been pitching for a long time, so you’re happy.”
Severino reached the milestone with a first-inning whiff of Jose Altuve. Severino went on to throw six innings, allowing two runs (one earned), three hits and one walk. He struck out four in his third consecutive quality start and sixth in 12 outings this season.
A 10-year veteran, Severino logged 572 strikeouts in 518 innings over his first four MLB campaigns with the Yankees. That included 230 K’s in 2017 and 220 in ‘18, a two-year period in which he went 33-14 and became one of the American League’s top starters.
Then came a rotator cuff problem that limited Severino to three starts in 2019, followed by Tommy John surgery that shelved him for the ‘20 season and most of ‘21.
“I wish I could have learned how to take care of my body when I was younger,” Severino said after Wednesday’s start. “I was feeling, you know, young and [thought I had to] just go out there and compete. I know now how to stay healthy, how to be healthy every five days. I feel like there’s a lot left in my tank.
“When you come to the big leagues, it’s just a lot of things going on, you know? And you kind of let the moment get you. And the main thing is I was feeling good, so I didn’t have a routine. I would just show up to the field an hour before the game, just get ready.
“Now it’s like, ‘OK, it’s 4 o’clock for a 7 o’clock game, have to go to the tubs.’ There’s a lot of good machines now that can warm your tissue out. Just a lot of things that can prevent you from getting hurt. So I just take care of my body. I sleep better, eat well. … Like, last night, I can’t go eat fried chicken and fries and next day [have] an early game. So I have to eat good, go to bed early. Those kinds of little things are big for recovery.”
Severino made 19 appearances with the Yankees in both 2022 and ‘23 before signing with the Mets as a free agent. After making 34 starts for them in ‘24, including three in the postseason, he cast his lot with the A’s via a two-year, $45 million free-agent contract that includes a third-year player option.
A’s manager Mark Kotsay said Severino has done an “amazing job” in setting an example for a pitching staff that skews young.
“He goes out and takes the ball every fifth day and has conviction,” Kotsay said. “Even when his starts at times haven’t been great, he’s still finished five or six innings for us. That’s leadership in itself.”
Jacob Wilson, who had an RBI double and run scored in the third, put Severino in position for a victory by hitting a solo homer off Lance McCullers Jr. to put the A’s up 3-2 in the fifth. Severino preserved that lead by retiring Cam Smith on a liner to center with two on and two out in the sixth.
Severino’s potential “W” disappeared when Justin Sterner gave up a home run to the first batter he faced, Zach Dezenzo, in the seventh.
Sterner, who hadn’t allowed a run in 12 road appearances coming in, gave up two more on Victor Caratini’s bases-loaded two-out single six batters later. That sent the A’s, who struck out 18 times Wednesday, to their 13th loss in the past 14 games.
“That’s kind of the story that we’ve been going through lately,” Kotsay said. “Sevy gave us a great performance, got out of the sixth inning. To be at his 90th-plus pitch and continue to gear back and give it everything he had, it was a big performance. We got one from him last game. He walked off the mound with a lead, and we just haven’t been able to finish the game off for him.”