New York Yankees left-handed starter Nestor Cortes will undergo an MRI on his pitching elbow, per Jack Curry of the YES Network. Cortes, 29, was slated to start Wednesday against the Baltimore Orioles, as the Yankees seek to clinch the AL East title with a win.
The Yankees have not yet announced an official diagnosis. Cortes’ recent performance did not indicate any elbow trouble, and over his past three outings the lefty has given up only one run with 18 strikeouts in 15⅓ innings. Cortes pitched 4⅓ hitless innings in his first relief appearance of the season against the Chicago Cubs, and returned to the rotation five days later against the Red Sox – holding Boston to one run with nine strikeouts across five innings. On Sept. 18, he held the Seattle Mariners to four hits over six scoreless innings.
Cortes has a 3.77 ERA across a team-leading 174⅓ innings pitched, and leads the Yankees in starts (31) with strong underlying numbers (3.83 FIP, 3.65 xERA, etc.).
The Yankees have already clinched a postseason berth, with one more win (or loss from the Baltimore Orioles) to officially clinch the AL East title.
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