After dropping two of three games to the Tampa Bay Rays over the weekend, the New York Yankees will look to get back on track during their 10-game road trip when they open a four-game series against the host Detroit Tigers on Monday.
The Yankees were blanked 3-0 on Saturday, then gave up four sixth-inning runs in a 7-4 loss on Sunday.
New York only had four hits on Sunday, though three of them were home runs. The Yankees' last 16 batters failed to reach base and there were two bench-clearing incidents.
"We haven't been very good," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "Everything's been a challenge."
Luis Severino will start the series opener for the Yankees. Severino (3-8. 7.26 ERA) has endured a miserable season since returning from a strained lat muscle that sidelined him until May 21.
His last outing may have been his best this season. He limited Washington to one hit and two walks during 6 2/3 scoreless innings to pick up a win on Wednesday.
Severino got a big ovation from the home crowd, a rare occurrence.
"Like I've said before, I know the stuff I have and I know the pitcher I can be," Severino said. "I just need to continue to do little adjustments, trusting my stuff again, having confidence in myself, and I know good things are going to happen. I've heard a lot of boos, so it's a good thing to have those fans cheering for me."
Severino's outing, along with three Aaron Judge home runs, helped the Yankees snap a nine-game losing streak.
"This has been a tough year, but he's never (stopped) fighting and kept working," Boone said of Severino. "So it's nice, when you've been taking it on the chin and you've been facing some adversity, to get a moment to be appreciated.
"It's not easy. And hopefully now, after an outing like this, he can start to build and start to put some of these together and finish the season strong."
Severino has usually been stellar when facing the Tigers. In seven career starts, he is 4-1 with a 2.11 ERA.
Reese Olson (2-5, 5.29) will oppose Severino. Olson has struggled in his last two starts after tossing six scoreless innings against Minnesota on Aug. 10.
Olson faced the Twins again in his next start and allowed four runs in 2 2/3 innings. In his most recent outing last Tuesday, Olson gave up six runs in 4 2/3 innings against the Chicago Cubs.
The rookie right-hander was surprised how the game unfolded.
"Honestly, that was probably the best stuff I've had the whole year," he said. "In terms of fastball command, the slider shape, the changeup shape, I feel like it was a better outing than the line shows. So, it's a little frustrating."
The Tigers have also lost their last two games. They were thumped 9-2 and 17-4 by Houston on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
The game on Sunday got so out of hand that Detroit manager A.J. Hinch used two position players, Carson Kelly and Zack Short, to finish up on the mound.
The lone bright spot was Miguel Cabrera, who hit his third homer this season and 510th of his career.
—Field Level Media