Severino’s rocky relationship with A’s ballpark in 2025 ends on the right foot
Luis Severino ended his tumultuous season in West Sacramento on a high note.
The Athletics’ ace and highest paid free agent in club history tossed 6 1/3 shutout innings in Wednesday night’s 6-0 victory over the Houston Astros, marking the first time he didn’t allow a run in a start at Sutter Health Park this season, in what’ll be his last appearance of the 2025 campaign.
“I’ll sleep really happy tonight. It feels good. I think I finally figured it out,” Severino said.
Severino was outspoken earlier in the year about his inability to get comfortable at the A’s temporary home, a Triple-A stadium with the clubhouse beyond the outfield wall rather than right behind the dugout. It prevented Severino from going into the clubhouse between innings, which he had become accustomed to during his 10-year big league career.
He opened his season in West Sacramento allowing 11 runs in his first 13 innings and lost his first three home starts. His next loss was a May 11 outing against the New York Yankees when he was tagged with eight earned runs, which he matched in a start against Minnesota on June 2.
It all came while the A’s were in a historically bad slump in which they lost 20 of 21 games, which ultimately ended their chances at reaching the playoffs. Otherwise, the A’s have played like a team deserving of being in the postseason mix. They improved to 52-43 since that slump.
Prior to Wednesday, Severino carried a 6.51 ERA in 14 home starts, more than double his road ERA of 3.02 in as many appearances. He had two starts earlier in the season in which he threw at least five innings and didn’t allow a run, but they came May 17 in San Francisco and Sept. 2 in St. Louis.
Wednesday was statistically his best outing of the season, allowing three hits and one walk with five strikeouts over the 6 1/3 innings.
“In the beginning of the season, I was just trying to figure out the field, how everything works,” Severino said. “... But I think everybody finally figured it out together. I feel like, not only me but the bullpen, our hitters. We have a better routine — how to work here. And I feel pretty good about it.”
The A’s signed Severino to be a stabilizing force atop their starting rotation, but he was anything but throughout the season after inking a three-year, $67 million contract.
“I love the way it finished for (Severino),” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “You get a tough stretch through May, we all went through it together. It obviously impacted our season. To turn the page, move forward and finish the year the way he did tonight, I’m really impressed. He showed that he’s a true pro.”
Fans behind the A’s dugout on Wednesday agreed. Severino received a standing ovation and he tipped his cap while heading to the dugout. The win gave the A’s their seventh straight over Houston, and will look for their eighth and the series sweep in Thursday’s matinee.
The A’s are likely to make significant changes to their rotation next season while Severino hopes he can build off his 3.76 ERA over his final five starts of the season after missing a month with an oblique strain.
“We figured out what we need to do on the field,” Severino said. “It was a lot of question marks at the beginning. But now we know. So I think next year we’re going to go out and compete and try to win every game.”
Good luck rain?
There was a light rain in the top of the first inning, and lightning was seen in the distance beyond left field. The rain picked back up in the fourth inning and continued for most of the middle innings. It was the first time there had been rain at an A’s game this season.
“That was really weird,” Severino said. “It was a little good luck for us.”
The heaviest rain came around the A’s biggest scoring inning when they scored three runs in the fifth. Shea Langeliers made it 2-0 with an RBI ground-rule double to right field in the fifth. He finished 4-for-4 on the night with two infield hits and two driven in. Brent Rooker followed with a two-run single to make it 4-0.
Langeliers and Tyler Soderstrom hit home runs on consecutive pitches in the bottom of the seventh to push the lead to 6-0. It was the fourth time the A’s had gone back to back this season. They were Langeliers’ 31st and Soderstrom’s 25th of the year.
