Nestor Cortes, Jr. has had a problem this year. For the first four innings, he’s been the Nasty Nestor of the past two years. But this year, in the fifth inning or in the third time around the order, he has been imploding. It’s a Jekyll and Hyde thing. Great for four, but after that ….
It appeared last night would be different. Except for one blip, Nestor was good through six innings. Once he got through the fifth and sixth, you thought that he had figured it out for this evening.
Then came the seventh, and things fell apart quickly. Not only for Nestor, but also for Jimmy Cordero, who relieved him. The Yanks saw a 5-1 lead disappear as the Orioles scored eight runs in the top of the seventh on their way to defeating the Yankees by a 9-6 score. The loss snapped the Yankees (30-21) five-game winning streak.
The Yanks had struck first in the bottom of the third. Isiah Kiner-Falefa tripled, and Gleyber Torres hit his first of two home runs for the night to give the Yanks a 2-0 lead.
Cortes gave up a HR in the top of the fourth and it was 2-1. But for six innings, that was the only run Cortes gave up.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Kiner-Falefa, not known for power at all, hit a 2-run homer (3) to make the score 4-1. Torres immediately followed with his second HR of the game (9) to make the score 5-1.
But then in the top of the seventh, Cortes walked the leadoff man, gave up a single, then gave up a 3-run HR that hit the RF foul pole and it was 5-4. Cordero relieved him. Single, single, double and Baltimore now had a 6-5 lead. An out, passed ball and walk put runners at first and third with one out. Albert Abreu replaced Cordero. A SF made it 7-5. A single and error made it 8-5. Another single and it was 9-5. Ouch.
Anthony Rizzo got an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh, and after that single, the Yanks still had the bases loaded with just one out, but they couldn’t add on.
Final 9-6, Baltimore. The Yanks struck out 13x.
Torres 2 hits, both HR (9) (2-run and a solo HR) 3 RBI.
Judge 3 walks.
Kiner-Falefa 2 hits. Triple and HR (3). 2 RBI.
Cortes 6+ IP, 4 R, 5 H, 2 W, 5 K. Gave up 2 HR. 5.30 Last year 2.44 ERA. Yanks need to get him right.
J. Cordero (L, 3-2) (BS, 1) 1/3 IP, 4 R, 3 H, 1 W, 1 K. 3.80
Abreu 1 1/3 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K. 4.01
N. Ramirez 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 2.08
The Sommer Frieze 
