Yesterday afternoon the Yankees took on the Phillies for the final game of their three-game series. Cristopher Sanchez got the start for Philly while Nestor Cortes was on the bump for New York. Cortes has been underwhelming this season after being one of the better pitchers on the team for the past few years.
There were loud rumblings inside the Yankee’s clubhouse that Cortes could be one of the guys on the trade block for the Yankees ahead of Tuesday’s deadline. He even told Yankees reporter Meredith Marakovits that he saw these rumors on social media and had received texts from friends and family asking about their validity. He told Marakovits that, despite all the noise, he did his best to stay focused on this outing.
And he fared well against Philadelphia’s lineup of heavy hitters. In his 5.1 innings pitched he had let up just 2 hits and 2 earned runs with six strikeouts, one of his best outings of the season.
He wasn’t the only slouching Yankee to perform well yesterday either, DJ LeMahieu got the start at first base and out of his slump. LeMahieu went 2/4 with a double and a home run. That home run was a grand slam, driving in Verdugo, Chisholm, and Stanton. This was just his third career grand slam and when it was all said and done it resulted in a six RBI game. The most LeMahieu has ever had in his 14-year career.
The Yankees ended up winning with a score of 6-5, LeMahieu accounting for all of New York’s runs.
This is the fifth straight series loss for Philadelphia who will travel west to face the Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Arizona Diamondbacks in their next three series.
The Yankees head home on a five-game winning streak, for a three-game stand against the division foe Toronto Blue Jays.
