Yankees ride Nestor Cortes gem to win rubber game against Baltimore

The New York Yankees took on the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday afternoon, looking to win a rubber game after falling on Saturday night.
Thankfully, star slugger Aaron Judge continued his incredible stretch after the All-Star break. Over the past five games, Judge has had nine hits in his last 19 at-bats. He recorded four home runs and 11 RBIs during that span, proving once again why he should be paid like one of baseball’s best players.
General manager Brian Cashman is desperately trying not to overpay the 30-year-old slugger, but if he can keep playing at this level for the next few years, it will be worth every penny. In Sunday’s win, he had two hits in four at bats, including a two-run homer in the top of the 3rd inning, leading DJ LeMahieu. The judge shook off an overhanging curveball that landed in the middle of the plate at 456 feet.
The Yankees needed vintage Nestor Cortes:
However, the Yankees’ best player was starting pitcher Nestor Cortes, who allowed six hits and zero earned runs on seven strikeouts. Cortes went 6.0 innings, throwing 94 pitches and 64 strikes. He laid out all the reasons he was voted in his first All-Star appearance.
Cortes was solid in July, aside from a tough outing against the Boston Red Sox on July 8. If you exclude that game, he allowed just two earned runs in 19 innings. He currently has a 2.63 ERA on the season with a 1.00 whip. After a tough outing for Gerrit Cole, Cortes explained why the Yankees relied heavily on him this season, despite a bit of fatigue in June.
In addition to Judge and Cortes dominating the stat sheet, Gleyber Torres added two hits, Aaron Hicks contributed two hits and Jose Treviño had his first career four-hit performance. Treviño doubled deep right field in the top of the 6th inning, driving Matt Carpenter to give the Yankees a 5-0 lead.
Overall, it was a quality performance from the Bombers, who needed a strong throwing performance to boost their confidence. The Yanks prepare to face the New York Mets in a two-game series starting Tuesday. They will have Monday off and host Jordan Montgomery on the mound against Taijuan Walker for a 7:10 p.m. tee time.