NEW YORK — When Nestor Cortes spoke to reporters in Yankee Stadium’s visiting clubhouse on Opening Day, he said that he was “excited” to face his former team in the second game of the season.
“I want to see where I line up with those guys and hopefully go out there and throw five shutout [innings],” said Cortes, who was traded to the Brewers over the offseason in the deal that brought Devin Williams to New York.
Cortes didn’t come close to his goal on Saturday. In fact, he couldn’t even throw one shutout pitch in the Yankees’ 20-9 laughingstock of a victory, as the lefty’s first offering of the day ended up in the visiting bullpen thanks to first-time leadoff man Paul Goldschmidt.
Miraculously, Cortes’ second and third pitches suffered the same fate, as Cody Bellinger and ex-teammate Aaron Judge also left the yard. The barrage marked the first time in franchise history that the Yankees clubbed back-to-back-to-back homers to start a game. It also forced a mound visit three pitches into Cortes’ return to the Bronx.
The Yankees were far from done though, as Austin Wells added a solo home run before the inning came to an end. The Brewers’ trainer then made another mound visit, only for Cortes to stay in as nearly every person in Milwaukee’s bullpen began to stretch.
The pitcher, now sporting platinum hair and a beard, managed to stop the bleeding after that, at least for the inning. However, Anthony Volpe joined the bludgeoning in the second inning, adding a three-run homer off Cortes.
Cortes was ultimately charged with eight earned runs over two innings. His homecoming came to a merciful end after he began the third frame with his fifth walk of the day. As Cortes left the mound, Yankees fans responded with a comical standing ovation.
The performance marked another nightmarish outing on Cortes’ recent résumé, as one of his final moments with the Yankees saw him surrender a walk-off grand slam to the Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman in Game 1 of the World Series last October. Still, Cortes’ name has been greeted with cheers over the last few days, as the former 36th-round draft pick and Rule 5 returnee established himself as a dependable starter during his third stint with the Yankees, which spanned the past four seasons.
“He became very popular for good reason,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said before the onslaught. “A great story. I remember him not being that big prospect — kind of that up-and-down guy — but always impressed us, even in the early days. He earned his way into the rotation, became an All-Star, and is turning into having a really good career.”
There was little evidence of that Saturday, though Milwaukee responded to Cortes’ horrific opening with a three-run second inning, which was assisted by some sloppy Yankees defense. Any hopes the Brewers had of a comeback were diminished by Volpe’s homer, though.
Judge completely erased such aspirations with a third-inning grand slam off Connor Thomas. The bomb earned the captain MVP chants and a curtain call from a belligerent crowd.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. then added another solo shot. The Bombers also scored earlier in the third on a deflected Bellinger single.
Bellinger added a sac fly in the fourth. Judge then blasted his third dinger of the day, a two-run jack, in the fourth inning.
Saturday marked the third three-homer game of Judge’s career. He came close to a fourth home run when he smacked an RBI double off the right-field wall in the sixth inning. Bellinger lined an RBI single before that.
Judge had another chance at history with ex-Yankee Jake Bauers, an outfielder, pitching in the eighth inning, but the slugger lined out to deep left. He and Bauers, another former teammate, then shared a laugh.
The Yankees put an even 20 on the board in the seventh when pinch-hitter Oswald Peraza ...
