Thunder's Cortes tosses six one-hit innings

Nestor Cortes has been an enigma to Eastern League hitters this season, and he's heard a little bit about why.
"[Coaches] tell me I have a real deceptive fastball with my mechanics," the Yankees' prospect said. "Even though I'm just throwing 89 [mph], sometimes 90, it plays up to hitters because of how I hide the ball and how short my arm action is. It might be that, but I'm just pitching."
Whatever the left-hander was doing, it certainly worked on Saturday. Cortes fired six innings of one-hit ball with a season-high seven strikeouts and two walks in Double-A Trenton's 5-0 win over Portland in Game 2 of a doubleheader.

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"This kid, his confidence -- he works fast and throws a lot of strikes," Thunder pitching coach Jose Rosado said. "One thing we love about Nestor, no matter the level, it doesn't matter who's out there hitting, he throws the ball over the plate. I thought he did a great job changing speeds. Hard, soft, up, in, down and away -- that's how you pitch, and he did a great job."

The masterful outing gives the Florida native 13 punchouts and just three hits allowed over 10 2/3 innings across three games, including two starts, on the circuit. After opening the season with a relief appearance in which he allowed one run over 4 1/3 frames for Class A Advanced Tampa, he was headed north.
"It was late at night and the manager, Jay Bell, called me," the 22-year-old said. "He told me, 'You're going to Trenton tomorrow, and you're going to start the day after.' I played it by ear, and that's how it happened."
A 36th-round pick in the 2013 Draft, Cortes (2-0) bounced around last year, making one appearance for Trenton and a spot start with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre while spending most of the season with Tampa and Class A Charleston. He finished the year with Scottsdale in the prospect-laden Arizona Fall League, putting up a 4.70 ERA but turning in scoreless outings in four of his last six games.
"I came up here to compete. That's all I can ask for, and the results are just a bonus," he said. 
In gloomy, 41-degree weather at Hadlock Field, Cortes was not exactly in his element.
"It's just cold," he said. "I felt fine, warm throughout the outing once I got going, but it took me a long time to warm up in that. I'm not used to it."
Nonetheless, the 5-foot-11 hurler struck out the first two batters faced and worked around a first-inning walk to Aneury Tavárez, who produced Portland's lone hit with one out in the fourth. 
"It was an in-betweener," Cortes explained. "Me and the shortstop [Thairo Estrada] and the third baseman [Miguel Andújar] all went for it. Actually, once I saw it coming between us, I gave it max effort -- I dove, but I couldn't get to it. Andujar made a great effort, but once he threw it, [Tavarez] was already [to first]."

Andujar, New York's ninth-ranked prospect, prevented another hit at the start of the fifth, showing range and arm strength to throw out No. 9 Boston prospectNick Longhi.
"It was a great play. I knew he had the arm to get him out -- I just didn't know how fast the runner was. When I saw [Andujar pick] it, I thought it was going to be a close play, and sure enough, he got him. I was pumped up after that," Cortes said, noting that two batters later Rashad Crawford took a hit away from Jake DePew.
"He made a great play, a diving catch out there in center field," Cortes said. 

He shrugged off a walk in the sixth and turned the ball over to Kyle Haynes for the final frame. Mike Olt reached on an error by second baseman Billy Fleming, but Haynes fanned top Red Sox prospect Rafael Devers, ranked 15th overall by MLB.com, and got Longhi to bounce into a double play.
Portland took the first game, 3-0, getting behind No. 27 Boston prospect Jalen Beeks. The 23-year-old lefty tossed a five-hitter with two walks and seven strikeouts. 
"I came out and saw him for two or three innings, but I didn't stay out that long -- it was too cold," Cortes said. " He looked great. I have nothing bad to say about him."