The New York Yankees’ starting rotation has been shaky over the past month, but one pitcher is starting to turn things around at the right time with a little over a month left until the postseason. Nestor Cortes was dominant in their 8-1 victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday, tossing seven shutout innings allowing three hits, no walks, and four strikeouts. That type of performance was much-needed after the Yankees used every available reliever in their 9-5 12-inning loss on Tuesday.
Nestor Cortes has turned it around at the right time for the Yankees
This was Cortes’ second straight shutout performance, as he also threw seven scoreless innings against the Chicago White Sox on Aug. 13. With him throwing 14 consecutive scoreless frames, his season ERA has dropped from 4.42 to 4.00 since allowing six earned runs to the Los Angeles Angels on Aug. 8.
Cortes’ turnaround is huge for the Yankees, as they just placed Luis Gil on the 15-day IL with a lower back strain and are still waiting on the return of Clarke Schmidt, who is supposed to start a rehab assignment in the coming days. The Yankees need their pitching to click if they want to nail down what has been a tight division race in the American League East with the Baltimore Orioles. Entering play on Thursday, New York leads Baltimore by 0.5 game.
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The rotation has had its ups and downs this season, pitching to a 4.70 ERA, a 1.38 WHIP, and allowing 1.47 HR/9 since July 1. Marcus Stroman was another guy who was struggling through the summer months, and manager Aaron Boone even skipped one of his starts to have the right-hander work on his pitching mechanics. He has since turned things around himself, allowing just one earned run over his last 11 innings thrown.
Cortes could pitch his way into the Yankees’ playoff rotation
The Yankees are using this last month of the season to figure out their rotation for the playoffs, which will undoubtedly be shorter than the typical five-man rotation used in the regular season. Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon figure to be locked in for the playoff rotation, with the other starters having to make a case for themselves to get playoff starts. With Gil now on the shelf, he may be the odd man out and subject to a bullpen role in October to keep his innings in check.
For some time, it seemed like Cortes was going to be the one booted from the rotation for the playoffs thanks to his midseason struggles, but if he continues to pitch well down the final stretch of the season, New York may have no choice but to include him in the rotation for the postseason.
