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ATLANTA — Luis Severino found himself an out away from escaping a jam that he created, but the pitcher’s first-inning woes continued on Tuesday against the Braves.
Severino’s night began with a single off the bat of Ronald Acuña Jr. The Yankees’ right-hander then tried to pick the speedster off of first base. Acuña Jr. had been leaning, but Severino delivered an errant throw that put the runner on third.
Severino was able to record two straight outs after that, but a walk to Matt Olson set Marcell Ozuna up for a three-run homer to straightaway center field. That gave the Braves, baseball’s best team, an early lead that they never relinquished in a 5-0, series-securing win over the Yankees.
Severino, one of the worst starters in the majors this season, settled in for a few innings after that, but a fourth-inning error by third baseman Isiah Kiner-Falefa preceded another dinger to center. Acuña Jr. produced the second blow for his 27th home run of the season.
Severino totaled four innings, five hits, five runs, three earned, two walks, five strikeouts and 83 pitches against Atlanta’s formidable lineup. He managed to lower his ERA from 8.06 to 7.98.
The Yankees, meanwhile, had nothing for Bryce Elder, who has endured his own struggles lately.
While the righty entered the game with a 3.64 ERA, Elder had allowed 10 earned runs in his last two starts. The Yankees provided the perfect tonic, though, as they mustered one measly hit against the sophomore starter.
Atlanta’s bullpen didn’t allow any more knocks after Elder twirled seven scoreless innings. He walked and struck out three over 94 pitches.
Yet another pitiful offensive performance saw the last-place Yankees drop to 60-60. They have not been .500 or worse this late in season since 1995, according to statistician Katie Sharp.
With only 42 games left to play, the Yankees’ chances of making the playoffs are dwindling by the day, as they are now 6.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot. They’re also at risk of finishing the year under .500, something they haven’t done since 1992.
The Bombers will try to add to their win column and avoid a sweep on Wednesday when they wrap up their series with the Braves. Rookie right-hander Randy Vásquez is expected to pitch in some capacity, but the Yankees had “TBD” listed as their probable pitcher at the time of publication.
Veteran righty Charlie Morton will start for Atlanta.
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