Game 2 of the ALDS between the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Guardians is underway.
Nestor Cortes is on the mound for the Yankees this afternoon while Shane Bieber toes the rubber for the Guardians.
Cortes was 12-4 with a 2.44 ERA in 28 starts this year.
But there may be a certain advantage resting with Cortes and the Yankees right now.
Cortes fares quite well on the mound in day games.
This season, he’s started 12 day games and gone 6-0 with a 1.82 ERA.
He’s also only allowed six homers in those games and has held hitters to a .163 batting average.
Nestor in day games this season
(12 starts)W-L 6-0 (Yankees 10-2)
ERA 1.82 (Night ERA 2.99)
BB/K 17/98*
BAA .163
HR 6*All four of his double digit K games were day games
— Jeff Quagliata (@yestoresearch) October 14, 2022
Nestor Cortes: Master Of Day Games
This could be a huge boost for the Yankees as they look to win today and take a 2-0 series lead to Cleveland.
Cortes has been virtually unhittable in his day game starts.
It’s also worth noting that all four of his double-digit strikeout games were day game starts.
His walk to strikeout ratio sits at 17/98 in his day starts.
The Yankees will need Cortes to work some of that day game magic again today as they try and move to within one win of their first ALCS since 2019.
The Yankees won Game 1 by a final of 4-1 behind a solid start from Gerrit Cole and solid offensive performances by Anthony Rizzo and Harrison Bader.
They’ll need another solid performance today out of Cortes to keep their momentum alive.
His day game stats are impressive enough that the Yankees have somewhat of an advantage in Game 2.
But he’ll be opposed by Shane Bieber, who had an impressive season in his own right.
We’ll see how Cortes responds to the challenge in his first career postseason start.
NEXT: Giancarlo Stanton Makes The Guardians Pay Early In Game 2