Cortes keys triple play, win for Pulaski

Nestor Cortes walked away from Calfee Park banged up Monday, but with a very special game ball.

The Yankees left-handed prospect dove for a line drive to begin a 1-5-3 triple play in Rookie-level Pulaski's 2-1 win over Danville for a doubleheader sweep.

But going airborne didn't cause the bloodshed.

"Giving high-fives to everyone [in the dugout], I even scratched my eye when I was giving a high-five," Cortes said. "My thumb got caught right on my right eyelid and scratched it and I started bleeding from it. But I was so caught up in it, I didn't realize it until once I sat down and it started burning."

Before the hazardous celebration, Cortes (2-0) found himself in a jam. In a scoreless game, the 20-year-old southpaw gave up singles to Ray-Patrick Didder and Jose Morel to start the fourth inning. Then Kurt Hoekstra reached on an unsuccessful fielder's choice to third baseman Allen Valerio.

"When I had the bases loaded, the only thing that was going through my head was making one pitch at a time. I got [Carlos Castro] at two strikes and threw a slider inside, kind of back up on him and [he] got jammed," the 5-foot-11 hurler recalled. "From there, I dove at the ball. I knew I had potential double play with the third baseman, but never thought it would be a triple play. Just got up, looked at third, tossed the ball."

Over at first base, Matt Duran wasn't even sure Cortes actually caught the ball. After the pitcher made his throw to Valerio, the 22-year-old stepped on third for the second out.

"Then I was screaming at Allen because the crowd was going wild and he couldn't hear me or anybody. He got the throw across the diamond and that's when we finished it off," Duran said. "All things considered, the situation, the time of the game, it couldn't have been drawn up any more perfectly. It was the perfect situation."

Seven seconds after the ball was pitched to Castro, Duran clutched it with his glove and made sure to keep track of it. While it was the first time the 22-year-old had ever been involved in a triple play, he decided to give it to a player who was on the field for one in high school.

"I was going to hold onto it, but the right thing to do was give it to our pitcher that started it," Duran said. "He threw a great game as usual and he deserved it."

Cortes spun six three-hit frames, striking out six without issuing a walk for his second straight win.

"Jesus Aparicio, my catcher, he did a great job calling the game. Whatever he called, most of the time, I threw it," the Florida native said. "He did great behind the plate and also my fielders made a great effort to keep everything off the ground and no runners on."

After the memorable play, the Yankees put a couple runs on the board in the fifth on RBIs by Billy Fleming and Duran. The latter's RBI double not only broke up an 0-for-11 slump, but also proved to be the difference after the Braves tacked on a run in the seventh.

"It felt great. I just have to trust in myself at the plate. My last at-bat, I just tried to make everything simple," he said. "I saw the ball well and I was able to put a good swing on it. Fortunately, it found some grass out there."

Brody Koerner followed Cortes by allowing an unearned run on a hit and a walk while striking out two in the seventh for his first career save.