BOSTON — Aaron Boone was sure he wanted to see his bullpen take control in a game where Nestor Cortez was struggling.
Cortez was sure he didn’t want to see his manager walk to the mound.
Cortes was not happy about being removed in the fifth inning of Friday’s 9-7 loss to the Red Sox at Fenway Park, but his pitches just weren’t strong enough for the left-hander to stay in the game.
The Red Sox had already scored the winning run off Cortez in that inning with the Yankees trailing 4-3.
With a runner on third and two outs, Cortez hit a 2-2 cutter into Sedan Raffaella’s elbow, bringing right-hander Jamie Westbrook to the plate and sending Boone to the mound.
“Given the volume of balls that were thrown all night, I thought it was the right time to put him in,” Boone said of Cortez, who allowed nine hits, two walks and four runs in 4 2/3 innings.
Cortes’ 81st pitch struck Rafaela.
He appeared to be preparing for Westbrook to hit the ninth but then looked toward the dugout and saw Boone approaching.
Cortez rolled his eyes.
When Boone arrived on the mound, Cortez held the ball in his glove for a moment, trying to show he thought he could stick around.
Boone asked for the ball, Cortez handed it to Boone and walked away.
“I think as a competitor, as a starting pitcher, it’s always frustrating when you’re coming off a game,” said Cortez, whose struggles continued after he left the Bronx. “I threw 81 pitches. [11] People who were at the base at night.
“But I thought I made a lot of good pitches throughout the night. A lot of soft contact. I allowed some hard pitches when it obviously wasn’t my chance, but they led to runs.”
Boone’s decision paid off.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora used former Mets left-hander Dom Smith to pinch-hitter for Westbrook after Boone was replaced by Tommy Kahnle.
With a runner on second base, Kahnle struck out Smith with a fastball and yelled as he came off the mound.
Still, Cortez wanted the ball.
He didn’t pitch a complete 1-2-3 inning that night, but he did enough to keep his team in the game when it mattered.
The Red Sox found plenty of holes, but they also hit seven batted balls that registered speeds of at least 95 mph.
Cortez has allowed 15 earned runs in 13 1/3 innings and three starts so far, and his ERA has skyrocketed to 4.13.
“I thought Nestor pitched well, but they … made it hard on him,” Boone said. “They threw a lot of balls to him. I thought they controlled the contact well. They didn’t hit the ball that hard, but they definitely had a lot of runners on base.”
