The 2018-19 season ended far too early for Kevin Chappell, who had microdiscectomy surgery on his ailing back after just three events last fall. The 2019-20 season is off to a vastly more encouraging start for the 33-year-old.

Chappell began his second round at A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier with a routine par on his opening hole, No. 10. It was his only par for his first 10 holes. He birdied Nos. 11-1 on his way to becoming the 11^th player in PGA Tour history to shoot a sub-60 round.

Chappell, who began the tournament with a 1-over 71 on Thursday, had just 10 putts on his first nine holes and was alone in fifth place at 10 under. He’s the second player to shoot 59 on The Old White TPC following Stuart Appleby’s final-round card at the 2010 tournament.

The only nervous moment for Chappell came on the eight hole when his lag putt from 54 feet came up 7 feet short. He converted his par attempt and had an 11-footer for birdie on his final hole to become just the second player to shoot 58 in a Tour event, but the attempt was short.

“I made [the birdie] on seven to get to 11 under par for the day and I just told my caddie I wanted to shoot 57,” said Chappell, who is making his first Tour start since last year’s Mayakoba Golf Classic. “I just tried to keep the mindset to attack.”

The round was particularly impressive given Chappell’s lengthy comeback following last November’s surgery and he was understandably emotional following his historic day.

“Ten months ago I was on the couch and couldn’t walk. So many people had so much to do with getting me back out here and getting me competitive,” he said. “I haven’t accomplished the goal yet, there’s a long weekend to go, but this is a step in the right direction.”

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said he is still confident David De Gea will stay at Manchester United by insisting that the club has a track record of holding onto the players it wants to keep.

United goalkeeper De Gea is in the final year of his Old Trafford deal and can leave as a free agent next summer if he continues to stall on signing a new long-term deal.

- ESPN Premier League fantasy: Sign up now!
- All Premier League summer transfers

Italian champions Juventus are long-term admirers of De Gea, with the Turin outfit also having a track record in recent years for signing top-class players at the end of their contracts.

But despite the uncertainty surrounding the 28-year-old's future, Solskjaer believes De Gea can be persuaded to commit to a new deal at United.

"We are always aware of what's happening around in the world [with other goalkeepers], but my focus, and the club's focus, is to convince David to stay," Solskjaer said. "He can see what we're doing, and knows what we're doing.

"We want players here, the best ones, and the ones we want, most of the time they stay. There are not many who we want to keep that we don't manage to keep.

"I think you'd need to ask David and the club [why he hasn't signed]. I've obviously not been involved in all the discussions, but I'm very -- or pretty -- confident we'll get this sorted.

"David's never, ever said anything else to me, other than that he loves this club, he wants to stay here and he's had a fantastic time. So let's hope we just get it over the line."

De Gea has been criticised for making a series of uncharacteristic mistakes for United in recent months and the Spaniard has started this season in unconvincing form.

But Solskjaer claims that De Gea's mistakes are being highlighted simply because of the spotlight that comes with playing for United.

"Well, I think he's had a fantastic time here, but yeah, of course, whenever he concedes a goal, it's headlines, that he should have saved," Solskjaer said.

"Whenever we lose a game -- we've lost one game since July 1 and it sounds like we're really struggling -- but that's just the way it is at Man United and you have to handle it. You have to be resilient, you've got to have robust confidence, and he's fine. I don't worry about him at all.

"I have two very good backup keepers with Sergio [Romero] and Lee [Grant]. Dean [Henderson] is playing [on loan] at Sheffield United, so the goalkeeping department is in good health."

Manchester United host Leicester City on Saturday, with the Foxes in third place in the table and Solskjaer's side sitting in eighth place.

ESPNcricinfo's Live Report will bring you all the analysis, stats, news and reaction from the opening round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Pakistan's premier first-class competition. If the blog doesn't load, please refresh your page.

Trinbago Knight Riders 267 for 2 (Munro 96*, Simmons 86, Pollard 45) beat Jamaica Tallawahs 226 for 5 (Phillips 62, Hasnain 2-51) by 41 runs

There was plenty of sympathy for the bowlers at Sabina Park on Friday as the 10th match of CPL 2019 witnessed highest score in franchise cricket and the second-highest match aggregate (by runs) in all T20 cricket. By the end of it, Trinbago Knight Riders' 267 for 2 was too much for Jamaica Tallawahs, who finished 41 runs short despite a brave attempt. The result meant Knight Riders made it four wins in a row while Tallawahs suffered their fourth straight defeat.

There was, however, no sympathy for the fielders. A total of 12 catches went down across both innings with Knight Riders took more advantage of that. Colin Munro struck a 50-ball 96 in the company of Lendl Simmons, who struck a 42-ball 86 in the first innings, and they both rode on the multiple opportunities that Tallawahs' fielders provided to set Tallawahs a record-breaking target of 268.

Glenn Phillips gave the Jamaican home crowd some hope when he blazed to a 32-ball 62, but Mohammad Hasnain's double-wicket burst and an injury to Rovman Powell extinguished that. While Tallawahs continued finding the boundaries - they matched Knight Riders' 17 sixes with 17 of their own - they had much fewer fours, but entertained the crowd till the final ball.

Simmons, Munro cash in on error-prone Tallawahs

All it took was two balls for Lendl Simmons to make his intentions clear at Sabina Park. The way he rose to pull Derval Green showed the pitch offered next to nothing for the pacers. Three balls later, when Green bowled so short that the ball flew over the wicketkeeper, the tone of the day - a Tallawahs performance peppered with errors - was set.

Jerome Taylor shared the new ball, and he started off with a front-foot no-ball. In all, he'd bowl four no-balls (that's four extra free-hit deliveries too) and three wides on the night. But that first no-ball was punished by Simmons right away, and as the Powerplay progressed Knight Riders found a minimum of one boundary every over. The first double-boundary over was the third when Sunil Narine - at that point on zero off seven balls - struck ten off the next three deliveries to bump his strike-rate to 100.

Simmons, like Narine, was living dangerously, unafraid to go the see-ball-hit-ball approach. That offered a chance to Taylor in the fourth over, when he edged an attempted loft to the wicketkeeper Glenn Phillips, but he failed to hold onto a difficult chance. Three balls later, Simmons mistimed a slog straight into midwicket's hands and was seen hitting his own pads with disgust, but looked back to see the umpire call another front-foot no-ball for Taylor.

At 55 for 0 after five overs, spin was introduced for the first time, in the form of Zahir Khan. The let-arm wristspinner from Afghanistan struck immediately, trapping Narine lbw for an 18-ball 20. In walked Colin Munro, the highest run-scorer of CPL 2018, at No. 3 and he took Zahir on from the first ball.

Munro approached Zahir with a stance that exposed leg (and part of middle) stump to negate the spinner's googly, and found success cutting the 20-year old through cover and following it up with a reverse sweep over point. Simmons and Munro then creamed Zahir for a further 11 next over.

Simmons entered the forties in the tenth over by opening his stance and pulling Ramaa Lewis over deep midwicket. Next ball, he drilled a flat shot to Taylor at long-on, but the fielder dropped it after running in. That ball was struck hard, but there were no excuses when Simmons was reprieved three balls later after slicing a full ball. Deep cover ran in, but he fluffed another chance, and that error ended the halfway stage of the first innings. The score at that stage read 98 for 1.

Entertainment galore as Knight Riders smash CPL records

Rovman Powell - who had a quiet first spell - was welcomed into his second spell by two boundaries that took Knight Riders past hundred. Simmons then cut Oshane Thomas to bring his half-century in 32 balls to close a quiet 12th over. But then began the carnage. Munro smashed Powell for two sixes next over and Simmons added another to cream 23 off the 13th. They did the same off Zahir off the 14th to take 22 off it. Those two overs lifted Munro past his fifty, the partnership past hundred and Knight Riders past 150. The 15th began with Simmons smashing Thomas for three fours and a six. The last of those fours was off a no-ball, so Simmons, on 86, shaped up to maximise the free-hit.

But what followed was straight out of a Charlie Chaplin classic. Simmons mistimed the free-hit in the air, and straight into deep midwicket's hands. The fielder began celebrating, forgetting that the previous ball was a no-ball, which Simmons noticed. He asked Munro to scamper across for a third run, but by then Glenn had noticed his mistake, and drilled in a throw that saw Simmons well short of the crease. There was also reasonable doubt whether Thomas had removed the bails cleanly with his hands, but Simmons was eventually declared run-out, one of only three ways - stumpings and hit-wicket are the other two - where a wicket is allowed off a free-hit.

In walked No. 4 Kieron Pollard, and he clobbered them to all parts too. While Munro hammered Green for two sixes in the 17th over, Pollard helped Knight Riders smash 30 runs off Taylor's final over, including a maximum off a front-foot no-ball. Taylor's four-over spell went for 55, and Thomas followed suit by conceding 21 off his final over to finish his spell wicketless for 63 runs.

Knight Riders finished on 267 for 2, only 11 short of the highest-ever T20 total. But the innings of 21 fours, 17 sixes, seven no-balls, and 12 wides had set a record for the highest total in the history of franchise cricket. It beat Royal Challengers Bangalore's 263 for 5 in the IPL. Munro was unbeaten on 96 off just50 balls, while Pollard made a 17-ball 45. In all, Knight Riders scored 171 runs in the final ten overs. Tallawahs didn't help by dropping seven chances off Simmons, Munro and Pollard.

more to follow...

BOSTON -- Kansas coach Les Miles' return to college football brought him some quick joy.

It also brought the Jayhawks something they haven't had in a long time -- a road win at a Power 5 school.

Carter Stanley threw for three touchdowns, Khalil Herbert rushed for 187 yards on just 11 carries and Kansas stunned Boston College 48-24 Friday night for its first road win over a Power 5 team in nearly 11 years.

The Jayhawks (2-1), who entered as a three-touchdown underdog, won their first road game against a power conference opponent since a victory at Iowa State on Oct. 4, 2008, a span of 48 straight losses. Pooka Williams ran for 121 yards on 22 attempts with a TD, and Herbert added a late score. Stanley was 20-of-27 for 238 yards with an interception on his first attempt.

"If anybody wants to know why a guy would come back to college football, this tells you how fun and how important college football is," said Miles, hired by the school last November after being fired from LSU two years ago.

"It shows the Jayhawks are coming," he said. "I think it's very realistic that we can be a great program and have real quality football teams year after year -- not today, not tomorrow. Shortly in the future."

AJ Dillon ran for 151 yards on 27 carries and Anthony Brown went 18-for-36 for 195 yards and had a TD pass for the Eagles (2-1). Brown also caught a TD pass.

"We didn't play very well," BC coach Steve Addazio said. "I think we saw a few signs of this last week. I think today that we didn't play well at all, and that's my responsibility."

Kansas went into the locker room with a 28-24 lead at the end of a wide-open first half that saw the teams combine for 623 yards (BC 313, Kansas 310). They also totaled 17 plays of 10 yards or more.

"I've been a Kansas fan my whole life and I can't remember when it was," Kansas linebacker Jay Dineen said of the last Power 5 road win. "It's huge having it off our shoulders."

Trailing 24-21, Kansas ran a simple pitch play at its own 15 with 40 seconds left and Herbert broke up the middle and headed down the right sideline for 82 yards before being knocked out of bounds.

"We needed to get this win," Stanley said. "The manner that we got it was huge."

Two plays later, Stanley hit Andrew Parchment -- his second of two TD catches -- for a 3-yard score.

Midway into the third quarter, the Jayhawks increased the lead to 38-24 when Williams had a 12-yard scoring run, capping an 87-yard drive.

BC had taken a 24-21 edge when Brown caught his 12-yard score from receiver CJ Lewis.

The Eagles scored on their first two drives and led 10-0 before the Jayhawks scored on six straight possessions.

THE TAKEAWAY

Kansas: The Jayhawks rebounded from a miserable loss at home against Coastal Carolina when they collected only 280 total yards by putting up 567 yards Friday. ... They beat Central Michigan on the road last season. Before that, their last road win was at Texas El-Paso on Sept. 12, 2009.

Boston College: It's the worst home -- and probably overall -- loss in Addazio's seven seasons at the school. Unless the defense gets fixed quickly, it could lead to a rough year when conference play and a tough late schedule loaded with road games at Clemson, Syracuse and Pittsburgh -- and a nonconference matchup at Notre Dame -- kicks in.

FLYING QB

On a third-and-4 at BC's 28 early in the second quarter, Stanley rolled to his left on a keeper and hurdled over Eagles DB Nolan Borgersen for a first down.

Miles was fired up on the sideline.

"It shows everybody that he cares as much as they do to put your body at risk for his teammates. They realize that," Miles said before joking. "There's somethings that I'd like to take back -- like the jump over the top of the guy."

BIG CHUNKS

Kansas had five scoring drives of 78 yards or more, finding big holes through BC's defense on numerous plays.

ERASE THE PAIN

"Moving forward, I think you're going to see a hungrier team -- a team that's not really taking any of these shots for granted," Dillon said.

UP NEXT

Kansas: Hosts West Virginia in its first Big 12 matchup next Saturday.

Boston College: Travels to Rutgers next Saturday for its first road game.

Will the transfer portal be the best thing to happen to the College Football Playoff? The quarterback carousel has opened a door to a series of unintended consequences, including this fun one: the possibility of Heisman hopeful quarterbacks facing their former teams on the sport's biggest stage.

Jalen vs. Tua, anyone?

We thought so.

Entering Week 3, the race for the top four spots is still in its infancy, but based on what we've seen so far, it's easy to get excited about some potential semifinal storylines. Get ready, because they're actually possible. Well, most of them (sorry, Group of 5).

Here's a ranking of College Football Playoff semifinal matchups that would make for a wildly entertaining postseason, and the chances of both teams actually reaching the semifinals according to the Allstate Playoff Predictor.

1. Oklahoma vs. Alabama
The main event: Jalen Hurts vs. Tua Tagovailoa

Why we want it: Tagovailoa beat Hurts once already, when he won the starting job at Alabama. Hurts was 26-2 with two championship game appearances in his two seasons as the Tide's starter. Then the Tua Takeover began. After a year as a backup, Hurts headed to Oklahoma, where he could potentially become the Sooners' next Heisman-winning QB.

Why it could actually happen: Because it already has? Alabama beat OU 45-34 in last year's playoff, and neither team has shown any signs of taking a step back. Hurts hasn't missed a beat stepping in for Kyler Murray, but if he's going to get a chance to beat his former team, it will be because the defense looks legit under first-year coordinator Alex Grinch. So far it has. ESPN's Football Power Index favors both OU and Alabama to win every remaining game.

Chance both make the CFP: 15.5%

2. Ohio State vs. Georgia
The main event: Justin Fields vs. Jacob Fromm

Why we want it: Fields signed with the Bulldogs as the No. 1 recruit in the 2018 ESPN 300, but with Fromm entrenched as Georgia's starter, and allegations that a former Georgia baseball player shouted racist remarks at him during a football game, Fields moved on. He was granted immediate eligibility by the NCAA and is showing why he was such a highly touted prospect. Fromm, who is Mel Kiper Jr.'s No. 25 2020 draft prospect, awaits his first big test (Week 4 against Notre Dame).

Why it could actually happen: The selection committee remembers the Big Ten has a champion. The league's winner has been snubbed each of the past three seasons (in 2016, Ohio State made it over champ Penn State). If the Pac-12 continues to beat itself up, though, and Notre Dame falters at some point, it would be tough for the committee to leave the Buckeyes out. ESPN's FPI projects Ohio State to win each of its remaining games, but with a backloaded schedule that currently includes five ranked opponents, it's not going to be easy. Georgia can relate. The Bulldogs face Notre Dame, Auburn and Texas A&M. Oh, and the SEC championship game. Good luck.

Chance both make the CFP: 4.7%

3. LSU vs. Ohio State
The main event: Joe Burrow vs. Justin Fields

Why we want it: Joe Burrow put it bluntly: "I didn't come here to sit on the bench for four years," he said in May 2018. So Burrow left Ohio State, transferred to LSU, won a wide-open competition -- and is suddenly in the Heisman race and has the NFL taking notice.

Why it could actually happen: Because LSU finally has a quarterback. The Tigers' offense had been stuck in a time warp for years. Now it's in fast-forward and has seemingly caught up to the rest of the sport, spreading the field, flinging the ball to speedy receivers. The only game FPI doesn't favor the Tigers to win is Nov. 9 at Alabama (surprise), but it might not matter. If the Tide wins the SEC, and that's LSU's only loss, it's possible they both still make the playoff.

Chance both make the CFP: 8.9%

4. Boise State vs. Oklahoma
The main event: Oklahoma vs. hook-and-ladders and on-field proposals

Why we want it: The year? 2007. The bowl? Fiesta. The No. 9 Broncos were undefeated and stayed that way after an instant classic 43-42 overtime upset of No. 7 Oklahoma. Remember? Hook-and-ladder? Fourth-and-18? Yeah, let's do that again.

Why it could actually happen: The playoff magically expands by December. OK, OK, this game probably isn't going to happen with the playoff at four teams. But let's play it out, anyway. The toughest remaining game on the Broncos' schedule is Oct. 19 at BYU. According to ESPN's FPI, Boise State has at 6.4% chance of going undefeated. (Fellow Group of 5 squad UCF is at 20%.). Say what you want about strength of schedule -- or the fact that this game almost assuredly won't happen -- but don't deny the classics underdogs can deliver.

Chance both make the CFP: 0.1%

5. Alabama vs. Michigan
The main event: Nick Saban vs. Jim Harbaugh

Why we want it: These two riveting characters have never faced each other in college. Saban is 6-1 against the Big Ten during his tenure at Alabama. Harbaugh is 2-1 against the SEC while at Michigan, but he did win his quarterback, transfer Shea Patterson, from Ole Miss.

Why it could actually happen: Harbaugh finally beats Ohio State to win the Big Ten, improving to 1-4 against the Buckeyes. It's not hard to imagine this matchup in the 1 vs. 4 scenario, but the onus is on Michigan, which faces Wisconsin on the road in a crossover game, and also plays Notre Dame again this year. If the Wolverines can finish as a one-loss Big Ten champ, the committee wouldn't dare leave them out, would it? Oh, wait ...

Chance both make the CFP: 1.6%

6. Alabama vs. Georgia
The main event: Georgia vs. recent history

Why we want it: It was 2017, and the chants of S-E-C! S-E-C! echoed from Atlanta to ... Atlanta. The league made CFP history when it became the first to have two teams finish in the top four, with Georgia, the SEC champ, at No. 3, and Alabama, which didn't win the West that year (Auburn did), at No. 4. Saban beat another former assistant, Kirby Smart, 26-23 in overtime to win the national title.

Why it could actually happen: Because it's the SEC. Last year, Georgia didn't win the SEC, finished with two losses, and was still seriously considered by some committee members. It's certainly possible the top four looks like this: 1. Clemson, 2. Alabama, 3. Georgia, 4. Pick your Power 5 champ. The toughest remaining game on the Bulldogs' schedule is Nov. 16 at Auburn, but the league has clout, so it wouldn't be surprising to see them both in, regardless of whether they've just played in the SEC title game.

Chance both make the CFP: 20%

7. Alabama vs. Clemson
The main event: The Tide and Tigers vs. Inevitability

Why we want it: Really? You need this? They've met four straight times in the playoff, and the series is now even after Clemson crushed Alabama last year to win the national title. So clearly, we need a tiebreaker.

Why it could actually happen: See above. Until proven otherwise, they're the teams to beat. Clemson's Week 2 win over Texas A&M set the Tigers on the path back to the playoff, as it was arguably the most difficult game on their schedule. If there's one team that seems like a lock right now, it's Clemson, and that's because nobody else in the ACC has looked like a spoiler. Syracuse has been a tricky opponent in the past for Clemson, but after being dismantled by Maryland, there's no sense of an upset brewing. Of course, that's why they call it an upset.

Chance both make the CFP: 59.4%

The Arizona Diamondbacks have reached an agreement on a contract extension with general manager Mike Hazen, the team announced on Friday. Length and terms of the deal were not made available.

Hazen's name had been tied to the Boston Red Sox -- who are looking to replace recently fired president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski.

Hazen, 43, was part of Boston's front office for 11 years before he took over as the Diamondbacks' GM after the 2016 season.

Arizona won 93 games and made the National League Division Series in 2017, and it finished with 82 wins in 2018. Heading into Friday's games, the Diamondbacks were four games back in the race for the second wild card.

At the beginning of Hazen's tenure, the D-backs ranked last in ESPN's Keith Law's prospect rankings in January 2017. They moved up to eighth in Law's last update in February 2019 and likely will be higher in the next update, following the trade-deadline deal that garnered four minor-leaguers from the Astros -- Corbin Martin, J.B. Bukauskas, Seth Beer and Josh Rojas -- in exchange for Zack Greinke.

WASHINGTON -- The Atlanta Braves are playing it safe with Freddie Freeman.

The All-Star first baseman exited Friday night's game against the Washington Nationals in the middle of the fourth inning, a move the team called a precaution because Freeman was experiencing elbow soreness. He was replaced by Charlie Culberson.

After the game, Freeman said he has dealt with a spur for years and it was tweaked when he made a backhand defensive play on a ground ball in the bottom of the third. He called himself day-to-day and said he can be expected to return to the lineup Saturday or Sunday.

"I jammed my elbow on that play, so it just kind of flared up," Freeman said. "I've had it, I've felt it, I've dealt with it, I've played through it. Just today, it was a little bit more than I expected. Now it's calmed completely down, so I'm hoping that I'll wake up and be able to play tomorrow. I got some treatment, did some really good stuff. Everything calmed down around it. It's just a sharp spur, and sometimes you can't control having it jam into something like that. My elbow just went into a weird spot when I made that backhand play. When I went for the backhand, I braced myself and that's when it got me.

"I've always been able to play through it and deal with it the last couple of years. It's never affected me, and I don't anticipate this affecting me at all. I'm hoping to be in there tomorrow. We'll see how it is. If not, maybe Sunday. It's day-to-day. So just expect me to probably be in there tomorrow."

Freeman started the series opener against Washington and went 0-for-2 in his first two at-bats. In the top of the first, he flied out to right field against Nats ace Max Scherzer. In the top of the third, he struck out swinging.

The Braves won Friday's game 5-0 to extend their lead atop the National League East to 9½ games ahead of second-place Washington.

Braves manager Brad Snitker echoed Freeman's optimism regarding playing on Saturday.

"He'd been battling some spurs, so it kicked him a little bit. We just wanted to make sure he's OK. He's feeling good now, and hopefully he wakes up tomorrow morning and is good and can play. We'll just wait and see. The guy's a gamer," Snitker said.

Freeman, who turned 30 years old on Thursday, entered Friday's action hitting .303 with 38 home runs, and was tied for the major league lead with 117 RBIs. He has played in all but one of the Braves' 148 contests this year. Last season, he was one of five MLB players who appeared in 162 games. In 2017, he missed six weeks with a fractured wrist, but he has never been on the injured list due to elbow problems.

Freeman's early exit comes on the same day that Atlanta got Nick Markakis back. The veteran outfielder, who missed 43 games with a fractured wrist, went 2-for-4 with a double, a run and a sacrifice fly in his return.

Toronto Blue Jays reliever Tim Mayza left Friday night's 6-5 win over the New York Yankees after dropping to his knees in pain following an awkward pitch thrown far behind Didi Gregorius in the top of the 10th inning.

Mayza clutched his pitching arm and covered his face with his right hand as concerned teammates gathered around him at the mound. He left the field with a team trainer.

The Blue Jays confirmed Mayza had suffered a left elbow injury. He left the stadium to undergo an MRI.

Friday's game marked Mayza's team-high 68th appearance of the year, tied for fourth most in the American League, though he has had at least two days off after his previous four appearances. He is 1-3 with a 4.91 ERA on the season.

"It was very sad," Toronto manager Charlie Montoyo said. "I love Timmy Mayza. He's done a great job and he's part of our future. Of course, he was emotional, everyone was."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

TORONTO -- The cavalry has arrived, or so hope the oft-injured New York Yankees, whose presumed top starting pitcher, Luis Severino, rejoined the team on the road ahead of his season debut.

Severino, 25, is scheduled to make his first major league start of 2019 against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday after spending most of the season on the injured list because of injuries to his right rotator cuff and lat muscle.

"I am very excited about that. It's been a long wait, but it happened. I'm happy that I'm healthy and I'm going to be able to help my team," Severino said Friday ahead of the first game of a three-game set against the Toronto Blue Jays. "The guys here have done a good job all year. Being back at this time means a lot to me. A lot of guys have been working hard all year, so I only have to do my part."

The right-hander made two rehab starts in the minors -- a 33-pitch outing that lasted an inning and a 64-pitch outing over 3⅓ innings -- before rejoining the team in Toronto to play catch with his teammates and throw a side session in the bullpen ahead of Tuesday's start.

The Yankees hope to build his pitch count and arm strength down the stretch to have him as a significant contributor as they continue to battle the Houston Astros for the best record in the majors. Severino's last major league start was in the 2018 American League Division Series, when he gave up six runs in three innings of a 16-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox in Game 3.

In terms of what pitcher Yankees fans would see against the Angels on Tuesday, Severino was hopeful that Tuesday's start would give fans a glimpse of the pitcher who went 19-8 with a 3.39 ERA in 191⅓ innings over 32 starts last season.

"The same guy that they've been watching all the past years. Electric guy. I'm going to attack hitters and try to do my best to win games," he said. "I'm looking forward to that day. I'm just excited to be back."

Severino is expected to ramp up to 75 pitches as the Yankees figure out what they will get from their de facto ace heading into the playoffs.

"This is a guy that's the last couple of years, obviously, has been in the Cy Young conversation. This is a guy that's a potential ace," manager Aaron Boone said. "This is a guy that's not only important in the short term to us but our long-term planning. A pitcher with his ability and his track record already, a guy we feel like is going to anchor our rotation for a long time."

After their most recent injury news, with J.A. Happ suffering from biceps tendinitis and unknown return dates for catcher Gary Sanchez after a left groin strain and an internal left oblique strain for Edwin Encarnacion, Boone was glad to be able add a healthy arm to what has been an unreliable starting rotation all season.

"You miss those kind of big innings, big outings a guy like that can give you and how he affects the rest of the staff as well," Boone said. "But we've missed another great pitcher capable of matching up with other great pitchers around the league."