New York Yankees at Houston Astros: ALCS Game 2 GameThread...

New York Yankees’ starter Luis Severino has given up four hits and three earned runs in each of his two Postseason appearances thus far. The difference, of course, is that one of the two lasted just a ¹⁄₃ of an inning, in the Wild Card game with the Twins, while the second outing was a seven-inning start in Game 4 of the ALDS with the Indians.

Severino said yesterday, in his press conference in advance of his ALCS start against the Astros, that he was confident as he prepared to take the mound in Minute Maid Park.

“I feel good, I feel confident in myself,” Severino told reporters in Houston.

“I knew that that first start I did, that wasn't me, and I made adjustments. That's how we do it; we make adjustments and the second start I put in place those adjustments and did good.”

“You really have to learn to bounce back in this game,” Yankees’ skipper Joe Girardi said before Game 1 with the Astros.

“And really, anything in life, any sport, any job, you're going to have your bad days and you got to learn to bounce back. I think Seve understands that.”

“Seve spent a whole year trying to bounce back last year, and he figured it out,” Girardi explained. “And it really turned about the last week in spring training for [Severino] and I think that experience probably helped him.”

Girardi also talked about the Yankees’ opponent on the mound, veteran hurler Justin Verlander, who was acquired by the Astros in a post-non-waiver deadline deal with the Detroit Tigers.

“He's a fierce competitor,” Girardi said. “Besides the great stuff he has, I mean, he's got great stuff, he's got four pitches, throws hard and they got great movement. But he's going to fight and fight and fight. And that's who he is.

“Our job is to fight him back. It's to match his competition level and make him work.

“And he's very talented, he's pitched great since he's come over here, I believe he's 7-0, and has even elevated his game more. So it's another challenge tomorrow.”

Verlander went (5-0) in five September starts with a 1.06 ERA and a .192/.272/.464 line against in 34 innings with the Astros, and he’s won one postseason start thus far and earned the win in a relief appearance against the Boston Red Sox. He’ll be facing a NY team that he’s not too familiar with tonight.

“I haven't faced any of them,” Verlander said. “I don't know my thoughts. It's kind of a wait and see and once I make my pitches to them then you just kind of adjust on the fly.

“They have scouting reports on me, I have scouting reports on them. I think we all know our strengths and weaknesses. But you never know what a guy's going to see well or what he's not going to see well. You just don't know that until you get out there.

“So that's one of those things that we'll have to figure out in the game.”