Now, the stage is set for the rubber match on Sunday, and a familiar face will be toeing the rubber for the opposing team. Luis Severino will pitch against the Yankees for the first time since the two sides parted ways after the 2023 season when New York let their longest-tenured player hit the open market and sign with their crosstown rivals.

Luis Severino spent years as Aaron Judge’s teammate on the New York Yankees marveling at his prodigious power and skill as a hitter.

Severino says he was opened to rejoining the Yankees, who had no interest in a reunion. It came down to returning to Queens or picking the A’s, who blew away the Mets’ two-year, $40-million best-and-final.