Nestor Cortes struck out nine and scattered six hits over seven shutout innings on Saturday in a no-decision against the Rays.
Cortes and opposing starter Zach Eflin locked horns in a throwback pitcher’s duel during Saturday’s afternoon matinee at Yankee Stadium, trading zeroes into the late innings of this one. The 29-year-old southpaw was simply magnificent, generating 17 swinging strikes, and finishing with a 30 percent CSW, needing just 102 pitches (69 strikes) to navigate seven nearly-flawless frames. He’ll bring a solid 3.41 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 28/5 K/BB ratio across 29 innings (five starts) into a tasty home matchup on Thursday against the Athletics.