"The umpires didn’t do anything in this game” - Nestor Cortes Jr. on his quick pitch argument against White Sox
Nestor Cortes Jr.'s actions on the mound took a wild turn on Saturday after home plate umpire Laz Diaz called off the lefty's quick pitch. It happened in the top of the sixth, with the New York Yankees up 3-1 against the Chicago White Sox.
After the 1-2 strikeout pitch was called off, Cortes immediately confronted the umpire to know the reason. He was visibly frustrated with the call and seeing him push himself to potential ejection, Yankees manager Aaron Boone ran down the field to calm him down.
After the game, Nestor Cortes Jr. didn't seem to be happy with the quick pitch argument but reserved his comments with a sarcastic jab at the umpires:
"The umpires didn't do anything in this game. I don't know, I guess it was an illegal pitch and that's all I am going to say," Cortes said.
The lefty is known to have his own style of pitching to bring in an element of surprise for the hitters. Pitching quickly is one of those elements and rarely do umpires call it off. It seems Friday was just one of those days.
Nestor Cortes Jr. fuels Yankees to 4-2 win
Regardless of the quick pitch argument, Nestor Cortes Jr. was on song in Friday's game against the Chicago White Sox. Though he hasn't looked great in his previous starts, this one should get his arm going well.
Cortes struck out six and was scoreless in seven innings of five-hit ball, earning his first win since April 8 against Miami:
"In the beginning, I was missing the spots, and I was actually not throwing the ball right like I wanted to," Cortes said. "In the third or fourth inning, things got more under control. I was able to pepper the outside corner the way I wanted to.
"I would say the cutter and fastball were pretty well and towards the end of the outing, I thought it was really good. I was able to use the changeup a lot, and I got a few strikeouts on change-ups. So, I was able to mix the whole night, and that's kind of what got me there."
Apart from Nestor Cortes Jr.'s impressive performance, captain Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton contributed with home runs in the game. With the win, the Yankees improved to 31-15, while the White Sox dropped to 14-31.