Before Game 5 of the Yankees’ American League split against Cleveland began on Tuesday, Manager Aaron Boone said he imagined his bulls would play a “big role.” in a contest of life and death against the Guardian.
Nestor Cortes, however, has a slightly different vision.
Played for just a three-day break – a possible scenario after rain forced Game 5 to be postponed for a day – the left-handed Cortes provided the Yankees with all they could ask for and then… some. Cortes rotates five innings of a single-track ball in the Bronx while dribbling one, hitting two and allowing three hits on 61 pitches in win 5-1.
“It feels incredible to be able to do what I did today,” said Cortes, the 2013 round 36 pick, who is in his third place with the Yankees. “I don’t know how long I’ll be out there. I’m just trying to give my team sets, whether it’s two innings, three, four, five innings. And it’s great to be at the top and lead the team to CS.”
A case could have been made to prolong Cortes’ productive outing, but his performance got the job done, keeping Boone from relying too much on his bullpen.
With the American League Championship Series against the Houston Astros set to begin Wednesday – and with only one day off scheduled for the game – Cortes’ impact on the Yankees’ relief team moving forward could prove valuable. as his personal performance in Game 5.
“My goodness, what an effort,” said Boone, who used right-hander Jonathan Loáisiga for two rounds before moving on to Clay Holmes and Wandy Peralta for the final six rounds. “Honestly, going in, I’d be really excited about 10 beaters.”
Right winger Holmes, the eighth goalless pitcher, also recognized the help of Cortes, 27, supplying the Yankees’ bullpen as the unit prepared for Houston.
“Oh, that’s unbelievable,” said Holmes. “Not just for this winner game, but just to put us in a position tomorrow to be in a good position. It’s gut-wrenching.”
More catcher Jose Trevino, who caught the final of the division series: “That’s huge. Nestor went in and did his job. I think he did well. I thought he did a really good job today.”
As Holmes noted, the Yankees’ season actually kicked off on Tuesday. However, Cortes said, “I have nothing to lose,” after the game, a nod to the hardships he endured before turning into one of the Yankees’ best – and the most cunning – pitchers in the second half of last season.
Before contributing a 2.61 ERA over the past two seasons, Cortes worked as a man who couldn’t stick with the Yankees, or even the Baltimore Orioles or the Seattle Mariners.
He scored a 15.26 ERA in seven and two-thirds plays against Seattle in 2020, and that was for his major league campaign that year. This season, he became an All-Star for the first time – and saved the day in the Yankees’ most important game to date.
“I’m lucky enough to organize and the Yankees believe in me to get me back in 2021,” Cortes said. “And from then on, things started to turn to what I am doing today. I am grateful for the opportunity they gave me. I’m grateful to everyone in the office and the coaches, I mean, down the line, for the opportunity to believe in me. I’m so glad I was able to show it today.”
For Boone, there was never any doubt.
“Just a Nestor legend,” Boone said, repeating a phrase he has used before, when asked what makes him believe in a pitcher who has been assigned the task of two. times in his career.
Those precarious days were far behind Cortes now. Instead, he is enjoying his status as a major pitcher – and has set his sights on the next game.
“I’ve been in the gutter before,” Cortes admitted. “I was disappointed. So for me, this is just a cherry on top. Hopefully there will be more moments like this.”
