Mets’ Luis Severino dialed into playoff mode for Red Sox start

CHICAGO — Luis Severino has plenty of experience facing Boston over the years in the heated context of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry.

In that regard, his Monday start at Citi Field will be somewhat different, bordering on just another game. But since the Mets right-hander is treating each start these days — regardless of the opponent — as almost a playoff game, he realizes there is little room for letdown.

“From now on, it’s a must-win series for us,” Severino said Sunday before the Mets beat the White Sox, 2-0, to complete a three-game sweep at Guaranteed Rate Field. “We have to win every series if we want to stay in the playoff conversation.”

In 16 career starts against the Red Sox, he’s 5-7 with a 4.06 ERA. He last faced them in June of last year, when he allowed three earned runs over five innings in a loss at Fenway Park.

Severino took a line drive off the top of his right foot in his last start on Wednesday that might have contributed to his mediocre outing against the Diamondbacks in which he allowed four earned runs over 4 ²/₃ innings.

But Severino threw a normal bullpen session over the weekend and said he doesn’t anticipate the foot will be an issue.

“Right now, it’s normal,” Severino said. “Hopefully, they don’t hit me there anymore.”

Edwin Diaz struck out the side in the ninth for his 16th save. It was his fourth appearance in five days.

“That is why we protected him for the whole year,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Even when he was down, coming off a year he was off the whole year, the way he is throwing the ball and bouncing back, there was a reason we [limited him] early on and now it’s go time.”

Diaz pitched three straight days (the first time this season he had that kind of workload) beginning on Wednesday.

Reed Garrett gave the Mets a fifth straight scoreless appearance by pitching a perfect eighth with one strikeout.

“He’s throwing strikes, that is what it comes down to,” Mendoza said. “Not only getting ahead, but limiting the 3-2 counts … just putting hitters away earlier in the count. When he gets in trouble, it’s usually deep in counts, the walks. It’s good to see him execute pitches in a one-run game.”