Patriots post second no-no in two years

Consider Luis Severino to be Somerset's good-luck charm.

The last time he was rehabbing with the Yankees' Double-A affiliate, the right-hander had a hand in the club's first affiliated no-hitter. With Severino again with the Patriots rehabbing a right lat strain and starting the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader, the team spun its second no-no in the nightcap.

Yoendrys Gómez and Steven Jennings combined on the feat in a 5-0 victory over host Hartford.

Gómez handled the brunt of the work en route to his first Double-A win. The Yankees' No. 12 prospect struck out five and walked one over five innings. He threw 69 pitches, 46 for strikes.

"I didn't really want to come out of the game, but I had already complied with the pitch count I had for the start," Gómez said. "[But] we all had confidence in [Jennings], and he was able to get out and achieve the historical moment."

And Jennings took care of business in the final two frames. The 23-year-old right-hander pitched two perfect frames, striking out one.

"His stuff has been getting better," Somerset pitching coach Gerardo Casadiego said of Jennings. "His secondary pitches matched really well vs. the Hartford lineup, so we decided to bring him in to finish the game, and he did a really good job."

Second no hitter in franchise history❗️ pic.twitter.com/d1Tg8ijirj

— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) September 8, 2022

Although Jennings has made 43 appearances in relief for the Patriots this season, the game was only Gómez's second in the Eastern League. Casadiego believes his charge is showing he can hang at the tougher level.

"It was good to see him healthy, strong and developing the other pitches that he has right now," Casadiego said. "I'm so happy for him and so proud of the work that he's put in.

"It was amazing. The moment was great. Everybody in the dugout and the stadium enjoyed the pitchers' performances."

Severino's impact did not go unnoticed. The 28-year-old allowed two runs on four hits and struck out four without a walk over four frames in the opening 6-2 win before witnessing the latest milestone.

"It's always a pleasure," Casadiego said about having Severino in the clubhouse. "Luis Severino is a guy that I've seen grow up throughout the organization. Now he's a big leaguer. He's a part of the rotation in the big leagues, and having him here for one game is such a good opportunity to see how much he has grown in this game."

Gómez took advantage of getting to watch the way Severino, who is attempting to make it back to the Yankees ahead of the playoffs, goes about his business. And after Gómez's masterpiece, they exchanged stories of their no-hit bids.

"It was good to share [a moment] with him and see that he has a lot of confidence in the game and try to repeat it in the second game," Gómez said through interpreter Casadiego.

After the series against the Yard Goats ends Sunday, the Patriots have just one more left in the regular season. Currently trailing two games behind Portland, Somerset will finish the regular season with a six-game series against the Sea Dogs and make a final push for the postseason.

"We're building momentum off winning [this game]," Casadiego said. "We're gonna try to win the second half. We got a big series to finish the season [with Portland], and we're gonna go for it and hopefully create momentum into the playoffs."