Nestor Cortes has experience a drastic dip in efficiency after the fifth inning so far this season, but with a low pitch count and a spent Yankee bullpen, Aaron Boone stuck with his lefty to start the seventh inning.
Eight runs and one frustrating loss later, Boone told reporters that his plan was to give Cortes the first three batters of the seventh, and all three of those runners wound up scoring.
“Score leverage, and I felt like he was dominant there,” Boone said. “I was gonna have him go through [Adam] Frazier. A little bit of that, and we were short. I was staying away from Wandy [Peralta].
“I was gonna have him go through Frazier that inning no matter what.”
Ron Marinaccio and Michael King were unavailable as well after pitching in Tuesday’s thrilling win over the O’s, but on Wednesday, it was Baltimore’s turn to pull out an improbable victory thanks to a disastrous seventh for the Yanks.
Jimmy Cordero replaced Cortes and fared no better, and Boone heard loud boos from the home crowd after the Bombers had seemingly been cruising, holding a 5-1 lead in to start the seventh. Instead, Cortes’ night looked a lot different after facing those three batters.
“Kind of wrecked his line a little bit,” Boone said. “But I thought he threw the ball great.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
Follow WFAN on Social Media
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch
Listen live to WFAN:
Audacy App | Online Stream | Smart Speaker (just say ‘Play W-F-A-N’)