Good news and bad news as Yankees ride Nestor Cortes to victory in series win over Chicago

nestor cortes jr., yankees

The New York Yankees secured a series win against the Chicago White Sox on Sunday afternoon by a score of 5-1.

The Yankees featured Nestor Cortes on the mound, who has been their best starting pitcher over the first 34 games of the regular season. After losing against Chicago on Saturday night, the Bombers bounced back with a strong pitching performance, getting right back on track as the best team in baseball.

Good news and bad news as Yankees take series Vs Chicago:

Nestor Cortes was absolutely phenomenal in the series finale against Chicago on Sunday afternoon, pitching 8.0 innings, allowing three hits, one earned run, and striking out seven batters. He tossed 99 total pitches, 69 of them for strikes. Over the past two games combined, Cortes struck out 18 batters over 15.1 innings, coining himself the team’s best pitcher this season.

Nestor currently features a 1.35 ERA, providing relief pitcher Clay Holmes with an easy opportunity to close the game, tossing 15 pitches in the 9th inning. Offensively, the Bombers only tallied two hits on the afternoon but managed five runs. In the second inning, Chicago starter Michael Kopech walked Aaron Hicks in for the first run and then walked DJ LeMahieu for the second run.

The Yankees showcase extremely patient hitting but struggled for the second consecutive game to pick up hits. If not for a Joey Gallo two-run blast in the 9th inning, the Yankees might’ve had a bit more trouble closing the game.

Speaking of Gallo, he has been an absolute monster at the plate recently, hitting .240 in the month of May with two homers and six hits. He’s also picked up six walks and struck out just seven times over 25 at-bats.

At this point in the season, the Yankees are simply struggling with offensive consistency. Their pitching has been tremendous, but they need the bottom of the order to pick up the slack. They’ve been mostly quiet over 36 games.