Yankees’ Luis Severino mows down Rays for 10th win | Rapid reaction

Luis Severino pitched a three-hitter and struck out nine working eight shutout innings in the Yankees’ 4-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium.

NEW YORK — Yankees ace Luis Severino is halfway to 20 wins and we’re barely halfway through June.

And win No. 10 was a thing of beauty.

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Pitching on extra rest following his shortest outing of the season, Severino blew away the Tampa Bay Rays with fastballs that were coming in at 98-to-100 mph all day long.

It was a same old, same old Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium, which was packed again for the steamrolling Yankees’ 4-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Severino (10-2) pitched a three-hitter over eight shutout innings with nine strikeouts and two walks, and the 46-20 Yankees won their third in a row and improved to 13-3 in their last 16.

“I thought his stuff, even by Sevy’s standards, was great,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “The fastball seemed to me to have every more life.

“He was pitching on the sixth day after a shorter outing and stuff wise it seemed to be really coming out well.”

The Yankees had the lead by the second inning when Gleyber Torres hit a two-out RBI double off Rays lefty Ryan Yarbrough for a 1-0 lead.

The Yankees made it 2-0 in the third on a run-scoring hit by Didi Gregorius, then doubled their lead in the fourth when Giancarlo Stanton hit a leadoff homer to left and Gary Sanchez followed with a blast to center that landed in Monument Park.

Severino became the majors’ third 10-game winner, joining Washington Nationals righty Max Scherzer (10-2) and Cleveland Indians righty Corey Kluber (10-3).

The Yankees’ last 20-game winner was CC Sabathia, who was 21-7 in 2010.

The Rays only had two baserunners reach second base on Severino, whose first and last fastballs of the day were clocked at 98 mph.

Severino finished his afternoon with a seven-pitch, 1-2-3 eighth.

Severino pitched his first career complete-game shutout earlier this season, as he beat the Astros 4-0 in Houston in a 110-pitch outing on May 2, but this time he was pulled with his pitch count at 102 (71 of which were strikes).

His strong outing came six days after his loss to the Mets last Sunday night at Citi Field when he allowed two runs over a season-low two innings.

NOTABLE

— The Yankees missed a shot at making it two shutouts in a row when reliever Chasen Shreve gave up a leadoff homer in the ninth to Matt Duffy. The Yanks beat the Rays 5-0 on Friday night for their second shutout of the week and fifth of the season.

— Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman entered after Shreve allowed a homer and triple in two batters, then retired three in a row on 10 pitches to pick up his 20th save in 21 chances.

— The most peculiar play of the game came in the fifth when Rays right fielder Carlos Gomez hit a high popup just in front of the plate and Severino raced in and jumped over Sanchez to make the catch.

— Aaron Judge, the Yankees’ DH on Saturday, was 2 for 4 with two doubles. He’s hitting .444 (8 for 18) over his last five games.

— The Yankees improved to 32-4 when scoring first and 30-4 when their starting pitcher works at least six innings.

— The Yankees acquired Double-A infielder Wendell Rijo from the Brewers to complete a May 25 deal that sent catcher Erik Kratz to Milwaukee for a player to be named. A 22-year-old Dominican who originally signed with the Boston Red Sox in 2013, Rijo hit .200 with four homers, 14 RBI in 80 AB over 32 games for Double-A Biloxi in Southern League.

LOOKING AHEAD

Sunday: Tampa Bay Rays at Yankees, 2:05 p.m., YES. TBA vs. RHP Luis Severino (4-1, 3.27).

Monday: Yankees at Washington Nationals, 5:05 p.m., completion of suspension camp, YES.

Monday: Yankees at Washington Nationals, 30 minutes after first game, YES.

Tuesday: Seattle Mariners at Yankees, 7:05 p.m., YES. LHP Marco Gonzales (7-3, 3.42) vs. RHP Sonny Gray (4-4, 4.98).

Randy Miller may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com on Facebook.