Mickey Togs

In the New York Jets third game of the 2022 season, on a cloudy early autumn afternoon in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the New York Jets lost to the Cincinnati Bengals 27 – 12.

In the first half it was all Bengals. The Jets pass rush put little pressure on Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. With time to throw Burrow picked the Jets secondary apart, repeatedly hitting on deep passes to his star trio of wide receivers.

The Jets offense, on the other hand, was mostly stagnant. The Bengals pass rush kept Jets quarterback Joe Flacco under constant pressure, and Flacco did not respond well. He lost the ball on an interception and the Jets offense managed just a trio of field goals in a largely lifeless first half performance.

The second half consisted of more woe for the Jets. The only bright spot is that QB Zach Wilson should return next week. 

Luis Severino’s return was worth the wait. The Yankees right-hander, making his first start in more than two months, looked sharp across five innings Wednesday night in a 14-2 win over the Pirates.

Still building up his workload after making three rehab starts, Severino, who had been on the injured list with a strained right lat, threw an efficient 64 pitches while giving up one run on two hits and one walk, with six strikeouts.

“I was just happy to be back with the team, finally come back and help in any way that I can,” Severino said. “I feel really good. I feel confident and ready to get another start.”

The schedule will allow Severino to make two more starts in the regular season, against the Blue Jays and Orioles, after which he should be close to fully built up for the playoffs.

The Yankees need Severino to deliver more of what he flashed Wednesday night to give them a better shot of making a deep playoff run. The 28-year-old likely would serve as their Game 2 or 3 starter in a series.

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge hit his 60th home run during his team’s 9-8 walk-off win against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night, which was historic for several reasons.

Judge tied Babe Ruth for the second most home runs hit in American League history — which had previously stood as the MLB home run record for 34 years — and is now just three shy of Roger Maris‘ AL record of 63 home runs.

The 30-year-old also reached 60 home runs in fewer games than both Maris and Ruth, which has long been a debate over the validity of the record.

Ruth had initially set the record in 154 games, while Maris broke the  record in 162 games after the league had previously extended the total amount of games in a season.

Judge hit his 60th homer in 147 games and is poised to hit at least four more with the Yankees scheduled to play 15 games before the conclusion of the 2022 MLB regular season.