Baltimore — Nestor Cortés messes with the windup to disrupt timing.
He adjusts the arm slot and drops the sidearm if the hitter might be expecting a more over-the-top release.
he wants to deceive
However, the color of his gloves doesn’t seem to be part of his attack plan.
When white numbers were carved into his glove and those numbers were blacked out, Cortez irritated the Orioles hitters in the Yankees’ 5-3 victory at Camden Yards on Sunday afternoon.
Cortez took the mound in his usual dark branded glove, the 44 Pro glove, in the first inning. It has a white “44” sewn on the back and bottom of the glove.
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Cortez had an eventful first inning that included a strikeout by Anthony Santander. Anthony Santander walked into the Yankees dugout after he thought Cortez fastballed him.
Home plate umpire Bill Miller intercepted him midway and pointed to “44.”
“The fact that he came to me and said it was a problem made me mad,” said Cortez, who said he’s been pitching in gloves since 2017. There is a problem with that. “
Cortez didn’t ask for an explanation, but the Yankees used a Sharpie in the dugout to darken the patch.
The lefty said he believed it was Miller, not the Orioles hitter, who had trouble with the grab.
In one at-bat, Santander was haunted, Cortez said.
Nothing was called and Cortés sneaked in a second strike which Santander complained to Miller.
Cortez then struck him out to end the inning. Baltimore’s final batter saw a glove with white numbers.
It wasn’t a big deal. Cortez he was solid through 5¹/₃ innings, allowing two runs—both he scored after being drawn in the sixth.
“I thought he was smart,” manager Aaron Boone said of Cortés, who won his second straight season opener. “It’s a tough line-up. It’s a good team and they made him work.”
Cortez got into trouble twice, both times involving young star catcher Adley Lutschmann, who knocked 3 of his 4 hits against Cortez.
In the fourth, Lutschmann singled and Cortez walked Santander with one out.
However, Cortez guided the flyouts of Austin Hayes and Ramon Urias to escape.
He was not given a chance to escape in the sixth when Cortez allowed another single to Lutschmann and a double to Ryan Mountcastle.
Aaron Boone pulled a still-stacking Cortez after throwing 91 pitches and Albert Abreu came in and allowed a two-run double to Santander.
Baltimore hitters took advantage of the Yankees’ bullpen but not Cortez’s glove.
Cortez said of the Orioles hitters, “I felt like they had a good look on the inside, but I was able to beat them.”
