SEATTLE ¨C One day into the new season, and Luis Severino might have an early contender for nastiest pitch of 2025.
Taking the mound for his new team on Thursday night at T-Mobile Park for Opening Day, Severino set the tone for the A¡¯s by firing six scoreless innings against the Mariners. Throughout the outing, Severino dazzled with high-velocity fastballs and backbreaking offspeed pitches. One in particular, however, went viral.
It came in the sixth inning. Facing Seattle first baseman Rowdy Tellez with two outs and two runners on, Severino was approaching 100 pitches and likely down to his final batter of the evening. Battling to a 2-2 count, Severino unleashed a wicked 84.6 mph backdoor sweeper that dotted the outside corner and froze Tellez for a called strike three.
"I knew I had enough in my back pocket to reach back and throw some nasty pitches,¡± Severino said. ¡°In my head, that was my last hitter. So, I was like, ¡®I¡¯m going to throw everything I¡¯ve got.¡¯ I just wanted to throw the nastiest stuff that I had.¡±
The pitch generated a buzz that quickly circulated over social media, and with good reason. It truly had the appearance of something out of a video game. After the sweeper initially left Severino¡¯s right hand, it looked as if it was heading for the right-handed batter¡¯s box for a clear ball. Suddenly, just before crossing the plate, the pitch sharply shifted back into the zone.
According to Statcast, Severino¡¯s sweeper to Tellez carried a horizontal break of 25 inches ¨C over two feet of movement.
¡°Going back and watching it, it got back to the zone, but it felt like it would have hit a right-handed hitter,¡± said A¡¯s catcher Shea Langeliers, who had the best angle of Severino¡¯s sweeper behind home plate. ¡°That¡¯s how far out to my left it was, and then it came all the way back. It was crazy.
¡°It¡¯s one of those pitches where, if you¡¯re trying to hit it, you probably just tip your cap. It was unbelievable.¡±
Entering his 10th Major League season, Severino¡¯s filthy sweeper on Thursday carried the third-most horizontal break of any breaking ball in his career. He¡¯s thrown two pitches with 26 inches of horizontal break in his career: a slider with the Yankees in 2017 and a sweeper last season with the Mets.
Unlike those two, though, Thursday's resulted in a strikeout. So it¡¯s understandable that Severino let out a huge roar and multiple fist pumps as he walked off the mound.
¡°I would say that¡¯s up there for the nastiest pitch I¡¯ve ever caught,¡± Langeliers said. ¡°When he throws it, it feels like it gets to a point, stops, and just goes straight to the left.¡±
The magnitude of the moment was also what had Severino so amped up. It was his 99th and final pitch of the game, and that huge strikeout preserved what was a one-run lead at the time.
Even though the A¡¯s lost late, that outing by Severino was evidence of why the A¡¯s coveted him this offseason and handed him the largest free-agent contract in franchise history. He went toe-to-toe with Mariners ace Logan Gilbert and ultimately outdueled the right-hander, who last season placed sixth in American League Cy Young voting.
This young A¡¯s squad has serious playoff aspirations for 2025, and a large part of reaching that goal hinges on Severino providing more outings like Thursday¡¯s debut.
¡°We haven¡¯t had a lot of those moments where a player shows that type of passion and excitement for a result,¡± manager Mark Kotsay said. ¡°He was going against one of the best pitchers in the American League, and he stepped up and competed inning for inning with him. The energy you felt when he walked off the field, teammates can feed from that and utilize that energy and that type of passion going forward.¡±