The Yankees have gone through some rough games in recent years at Tropicana Field, which has turned into a sort of house of horrors. Nestor Cortes is not the type of player to be cowed by past tribulations, though; he even threw five innings of one-run ball during a win at the Trop just last year. While solid, that outing was child’s play compared to tonight.
Cortes carried a three-hit shutout into the ninth inning, baffling the Rays’ batters all night long. He had everything working, and although it took the Yankees’ offense a little while to get going with their makeshift lineup full of bench players and late-scratch substitutions, they blew it open late.