NEW YORK – Nestor Cortes was supposed to be a stopping point in the Yankees’ rotation, little more than a scorer until Corey Kluber, Luis Severino and / or Domingo Germán returned from their respective stays on the injured list.
Who knows when (or if) any of these three starters will be ready to regain their place of rotation, but as long as that day comes, the Yankees could think twice about replacing Cortés. The left-hander fired seven strong innings Friday night, leading the Yankees to a 10-2 victory over the Twins, extending New York’s winning streak of the season to eight games.
Luke Voit went 4 for 5 with a home run and four RBIs, while Aaron Judge made a two-run homer, helping the Yankees advance for a second straight night as they pitched against rookie Charlie Barnes.
But even though Jameson Taillon failed to get on the sixth Thursday, Cortes struggled for a rocky sixth before completing seven innings for the first time in his career. Cortes matched his maximum run with seven bouts of attack, which ended with Andrelton Simmons on his 104-yard field (another personal best) to end the night.
The Yankees have now won four of Cortés ’five outings since moving into the rotation on July 28th. He won 2-1 with an ERA of 3.14 in those games, helping to stabilize the staff shattered by injuries.