It is no secret that Luis Severino has struggled mightily for the Yankees in 2023, but he got a surprising boost from the normally unforgiving New York crowd after his latest start against the Washington Nationals. Fans cheered him as he left the mound despite an atrocious summer, and he helped the team snap their worst losing streak in over 40 years with a dominating victory.

The power of positive energy certainly worked for Severino on this occasion, and he was able to deliver his best start of the year after months of failure. He gave up just one hit in 6.2 innings on Wednesday night in a 9-1 victory for the Yanks, and allowed no runs for the first time all year.

“It was great. I've been hearing a lot of boos, so it's a good thing to have those fans cheering for me,” Severino said with a smile, per Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News.

He returned to the Yankees in late May after an opening day injury to finally make his season debut. After a formidable first two starts, things went sideways rapidly for the 29-year-old. He gave up seven or more runs in four starts this year, bringing his ERA to an unbelievable 8.06 at one point.

Severino has spent time in the minors in each of the last three seasons due to injury rehabs and other issues as he attempted to get back to major league form. He harped on the fight he endured in his postgame interview.

“It's been a long time trying to find ways to be out there and help the team get some wins,” Severino said.

The Yankees may have finally snapped the skid, but the damage is already done to their playoff chances. They had been sitting on the edge of the final wild card before the disastrous streak brought them to 10 games back, leading Brian Cashman to accept the cold reality of their situation.