Jason Burgos
New York Yankees All-Star Nestor Cortes made an unbelievable play in the fourth inning of the team’s Game 2 matchup with the Cleveland Guardians that avoided a nightmare situation with bases loaded.
The Yankees and Guardians locked up for the second game of their divisional round series in a daytime affair on Friday after storms postponed their matchup Thursday. The Yankees entered with a 1-0 lead in the series after taking a Game 1 win earlier this week, 4-1. The game is a pivotal one for Cleveland as dropping both in New York would put a ton of pressure on the team to avoid elimination at home. A place where the Yankees have long faired well in the MLB Playoffs.
Related: MLB games today – Get watch times for the next set of matchups in the MLB playoffs
On Friday, the Yankees got out to a fast start when Mike Stanton homered to right field to give them a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Cortes kept the Guardians scoreless over the first three innings, but in the fourth Cleveland got a rally going. After getting the first two men out, the first-time All-Star gave up a hit to Josh Naylor, a walk to Owen Miller, and then a single by Andres Gimenez got the Guardians on the board.
Nestor Cortes makes MLB Playoffs defensive gem to save New York Yankees from trouble in 4th inning
Eventually, the bases were loaded with Myles Straw at-bat. The center fielder smacked a Cortes pitch right back at him but the 27-year-old quickly reacted by somehow turning and hopping quick enough to snag the ball. But the effort led to him falling to the ground. Nevertheless, the position on top of the mound did not deter him and he through from his knees and was able to get Straw out at first. Avoiding a game-changing inning in the fourth.
Unfortunately for Cortes and the Yankees, he gave up a solo homerun the very next inning to Ahmed Rosario that tied the game and was removed before the sixth. Ending his first playoff appearance with a no-decision. However, he made one of the best defensive plays in these playoffs and added another layer to his growing fandom in New York.
