Cortes Falters in the Seventh Inning of the Yankees’ Loss to the Orioles
Wednesday night saw Nestor Cortes of the New York Yankees cruising before the seventh inning. He had thrown more than 11 pitches in an inning just twice, striking out five, and appeared to be building on his previous start against Toronto. Things changed when Anthony Santander walked, Austin Hays singled, and Adam Frazier hit a three-run homer to sink Cortes’ outing, making the Yankees lose 9-6 to the Orioles.
After the game, Cortes said he felt better than he had in the past, adding that he believes his “inflated” 5.30 ERA will be back to normal by the end of the season. Manager Aaron Boone had planned to end Cortes’ night after Frazier’s at-bat, regardless of how the inning unfolded. Boone didn’t think that Cortes faltered once the start stretched into the sixth and seventh innings.
Cortes started his outing by retiring the first seven Orioles he faced, allowing only one ball to leave the infield. The first blemish came in the fourth inning, when Ryan Mountcastle homered on a 3-2 pitch into the Orioles’ bullpen. He only allowed one more hit until the seventh inning, where he struggled.
Before the game, Boone had said he wasn’t worried about Cortes’ recent stretch, in which he had allowed three or more runs in three of his last five starts since April 25. Boone wasn’t concerned with Cortes’ fastball velocity but rather the location, adding that Cortes was “mixing it all over” and was “sharper.”
Source: nypost.com
