Cortes spins 8 scoreless against favorite boyhood team

NEW YORK -- Some of Nestor Cortes’ fondest childhood memories involve trips to see the Marlins, a team he loved dearly. The Hialeah, Fla., product remembers cheering from the seats for players like Miguel Cabrera, Dontrelle Willis and Juan Pierre, imagining what it’d be like to play alongside them.

• Soto hits first Yankee Stadium homer in pinstripes

Cortes would have to settle for pitching against his once-favorite franchise, and as he faced the Marlins for the first time on Monday night, the lefty rose to the occasion. Backed by homers from Anthony Volpe and Juan Soto, Cortes spun eight scoreless innings in the Yankees’ 7-0 victory at Yankee Stadium.

“That was fun,” Cortes said. “When you’re out there giving guys zeros, you just keep them in the game long enough for them to explode like that. That’s what you hope for as a starting pitcher.”

The Yankees improved to 9-2, matching the club’s best 11-game start in franchise history. The Bombers also won nine of their first 11 games in seven previous seasons: 1922, 1933, 1949, 1958, 1988, 2003 and 2020. Volpe said his biggest takeaway has been “the different types of ways we can win.”

“We’ve won games coming from behind, playing from ahead. We’ve had the lineup pick it up, have the bullpen pick it up, have starters give us length. It’s been pretty well-rounded,” Volpe said.

On a night when manager Aaron Boone admittedly needed length from his starting pitcher, Cortes provided more than expected. Cortes understood the assignment, remarking, “Five wasn’t going to cut it.”

His eight-inning effort matched a career high and marked his longest scoreless effort. He limited Miami to two hits while striking out six and walking none in an efficient, breezy 102-pitch gem (70 for strikes).

Cortes leaned heavily on his fastball (42) and cutter (31), mixing in some sweepers (15) and changeups (11) to keep a young Marlins lineup guessing.

"These guys have big swings,” Cortes said. “It felt like there was a couple guys in there that I was able to throw a changeup to. I got into counts where I was able to throw it, and I executed really well.”

“He kept us off balance,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “The fastball, changeup and slider were really good, so it messed with our timing. He was outstanding tonight.”

Through his first two starts, Cortes’ main issue had been first-inning runs, as six of the seven tallies he’d allowed came in that opening frame.

But Cortes held Miami hitless until the fourth inning, by far his best start of a season that began with some doubts, considering he spent much of the offseason zipping between Miami and Tampa, Fla., to receive treatment on a balky left shoulder.

“One thing with Nestor, if he’s healthy and going, I don’t worry about his confidence,” Boone said. “He knows he’s good, and he’s now had extended success in this league for a couple of years as a starter. … He’s done a really good job with his daily commitment to doing everything to be healthy and to build progress.”

The Yanks produced all the offense they’d need in the fourth inning. Volpe, the Majors’ leading hitter with a .417 batting average, continued to swing a hot bat, digging out a low slider from Miami starter Jesús Luzardo for a three-run homer.

"I think it's contagious,” Volpe said. “Everyone has trust in each other that the next guy can get it done, so we want to come through."

Soto added his first Bronx homer as a Yankee later in the inning off Luzardo, slugging a three-run blast into the right-field seats. Soto, who earlier collected his 150th career double, said that his reception during this first homestand has exceeded all expectations.

“They’ve been showing the love every day,” Soto said. “It’s been amazing -- day in, day out, and in the entire game. That’s pretty dope.”

Alex Verdugo knocked in the Yankees’ seventh run with a fifth-inning single, collecting three hits while reaching base four times. The Yanks have won each game so far in which they’ve scored at least one run, scoring at least four in each victory.

“I feel like we’ve been a solid offense, night in and night out,” Boone said. “That said, we don’t have everyone going off right now at the plate, necessarily. I feel like we’ve been solid on defense and made really important defensive plays in winning moments.

“… It’s been a little bit of everyone that’s allowed us to get off to this start, but it’s 11 games in. We’ve got a long way to go."