WEST SACRAMENTO -- Luis Severino did not want to overplay the whole "Revenge Game" angle that is commonplace whenever a player faces his old team. But he did admit he would be pitching with a bit of an extra edge against the Mets.
¡°It¡¯s going to be fun facing those guys I played with for a full year,¡± Severino said while speaking to reporters earlier this week. ¡°I¡¯m going to bring my best, and best of luck to them.¡±
Severino certainly wore his emotions on his sleeve in Sunday¡¯s 8-0 Athletics loss to the Mets at Sutter Health Park. They showed through in the fourth inning as he unleashed a huge roar and mean stare in the direction of former teammate Brett Baty after their 10-pitch battle resulted in a strikeout, and again in the fifth as he pointed to Jacob Wilson after the A¡¯s shortstop leaped and made an acrobatic catch on a ball scorched by Juan Soto.
¡°It was fun,¡± Severino said. ¡°Fun throwing to guys I saw hit all last year. End of the day, I was facing a good team and I was just trying to make good pitches to get ahead in the count.¡±
Though the A¡¯s remain winless in Severino¡¯s four starts this season, they have been pleased with each performance by the 31-year-old right-hander, who this offseason signed the largest guaranteed contract in franchise history. His competitive fire is on display every time out, and he usually keeps the team in the game, much like Sunday¡¯s outing in which he limited New York to one run on four hits and three walks with six strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.
¡°Sevy did a great job,¡± manager Mark Kotsay said. ¡°You want that type of start from him. It¡¯s never easy to go against your former team with all the emotion. ¡ For Sevy to give us what he gave us, I thought he did a great job managing the game and giving us an opportunity to win.¡±
Severino -- who lowered his ERA to 4.01 on the year -- did his best to keep up with another former teammate Kodai Senga, who played a large role in the A¡¯s first shutout loss of 2025 by blanking them across seven innings. The Athletics righty held the Mets scoreless through the first five innings and showcased his nasty sweeper early and often, including a second inning that saw him strike out three batters -- all looking -- and ending on a sweeper that whipped across the zone and froze Tyrone Taylor for a called strike three.
With Severino¡¯s pitch count nearing the century mark in the sixth, Kotsay ran out to the mound with two outs. Throughout his tenure as A¡¯s skipper, rarely has Kotsay ever made a mound visit that did not result in a pitching change. He¡¯s now done so twice this season, both times with Severino pitching, including Sunday¡¯s sixth-inning chat that was mostly to inform him that upcoming hitter Luis Torrens would be his final batter.
While Severino surrendered an RBI single to Torrens for his first and only run and was pulled right after, he appreciated the continued vote of confidence from Kotsay.
¡°He knows I¡¯m smart about my body and how I feel,¡± said Severino, who leads the Majors with 405 pitches thrown this season. ¡°If he looks out there and I say that I¡¯m good, he trusts me. I¡¯m not going to go crazy and do something that is going to hurt me. I¡¯m really happy that I¡¯m here and I¡¯m with him.¡±
Severino also continued an encouraging trend by A¡¯s starting pitchers at home. Following early signs of Sutter Health Park playing like a hitter-friendly stadium with a total of 18 home runs -- 11 surrendered by A¡¯s pitchers -- and 67 runs scored through the club¡¯s first five home games, A¡¯s starters have now allowed three earned runs or fewer in each of the past four games in West Sacramento.
For Severino, who allowed a combined 11 runs (10 earned) in his first two starts at Sutter Health Park, he adjusted his gameplan against a lefty-heavy Mets lineup to throwing more sinkers than he normally would. As a result, he kept the ball on the ground much more often, recording eight of his 16 outs via groundball.
¡°I told [catcher Shea Langeliers] that we should throw more sinkers on this field,¡± Severino said. ¡°If we go on the road, maybe go more four-seam heavy. But here, you have to throw sinkers so the lefty can put the ball on the ground. That¡¯s what we did, and it worked.¡±