Today was a day to forget for the pitching staff, as the Yankees allowed 19 hits and 10 runs to the Twins following a poor start from Nestor Cortes. It would be a good time to remind our readers that these games are exhibitions, and therefore are not taken fully seriously by players who are just trying to get their work in. While getting good results would be nice, the process and underlying data take priority over the counting numbers of small sample-size baseball. What the Yankees did get to see however was another strong showing from Austin Wells, who continues to impress in camp.
It wasn’t a pretty line for Nestor Cortes, but let’s take a look into their 10-7 loss to the Twins earlier this afternoon.
Nestor Cortes Gets Rocked as Yankees Drop Another Spring Game
Today wasn’t Nestor Cortes’ finest on the mound, allowing six runs in 3.1 innings of work this afternoon, allowing nine total hits and walking one in the process. Is it time to start pressing the panic button on the former All-Star and his 8.10 ERA in Spring Training? Well besides the absurd nature of a question asking if people should be worried about the results of an exhibition game on March 9th, it’s not concerning to see a pitcher struggle in Spring Training. The southpaw is still getting comfortable in his five-day routine, and only time will tell if he succeeds or not this year.
His velocity is around where it should be, sitting between 91-92 MPH on the fastball, and he got over the 60-pitch threshold which is encouraging as well. Harrison Cohen got an out during the second inning as the rules in Spring Training allow for teams to pull starters and bring them back in the game to start the next inning. Oddainer Mosqueda continued to throw the ball well in Spring Training, as while he allowed a run he still collected three strikeouts with no walks, and the southpaw has flown under the radar in the early going.
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Nick Burdi added another inning of work, allowing a run on a walk and two hits, but continuing to flash excellent velocity that should excite both fans and organization personnel alike. His 4.50 ERA is misleading, the stuff has been remarkable and the Yankees will likely roster him for Opening Day if he can stay healthy and continue to throw upper-90s fastballs with wicked breaking pitches. He threw a couple of cutters and a changeup as well in the outing, and I’m excited to see how it translates to regular-season play.
Another reliever who could make the Opening Day roster is Dennis Santana, who worked around two hits with two punchouts to deliver a clean inning of work. The Yankees could have two dynamic NRIs in the form of him and Burdi, as the two have high-velocity fastballs with solid secondaries. What the Yankees have done with their bullpen speaks for itself, and I anticipate that at least one of the two will remain a solid option in their bullpen this season. Clayton Andrews allowed two runs in his 0.2 innings of work, with Osiel Rodriguez finishing the bottom of the eighth.
The star of the show offensively was Austin Wells, who hit a two-run home run in the first inning, and he’s started to pick it up after a cold start to his Spring Training. Aaron Boone seems pretty excited about his upside as well, and it looks like he’s a lock to make the team given the fact that his competitor is Ben Rortvedt. Josh VanMeter also hit a two-run blast, and perhaps he enters the fold for an infield bench spot, especially after the injury that Oswald Peraza suffered that will shut him down for 6-8 weeks.
Despite the seven runs on the scoreboard, the Yankees didn’t have much going in the hits department (6) and only worked three walks, and they were spread pretty evenly throughout the lineup. 11 different players reached base for the Yankees and yet none of them recorded multiple hits, walks, hit by pitches, or errors. The Yankees will continue their schedule with a home game against the Atlanta Braves as Clarke Schmidt gets the ball in his third start for a 1:05 PM EST start.