Schmidt & an Angry Nestor Cortes Combine for Shutout. Yanks 2 Cubs 0

September 8, 2024 paperbacklou 2024 0

Clarke Schmidt was back from a 3-month absence due to a lat strain, and looked as good as ever, throwing a shutout for 4.2 innings — and then the Yankees threw the Cubs a curveball, trotting out starter Nestor Cortes, who — pissed off that he was made into a reliever — was even more brilliant, pitching 4.1 innings of no-hit, shutout ball.

Final score: Yankees 2 Cubs 0 on a chilly, windy day at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

The only Yankee runs on the afternoon were due to a groundout by Austin Wells in the 1st with a runner on 3rd, and a throwing error by the catcher in the 6th, that allowed Aaron Judge to score after he stole 3rd in a double steal with Jazz Chisholm Jr.

“I just went out there with the mentality of getting outs,” said Nestor Cortes afterwards in an interview immediately after the game. “Obviously, welcome back Clarke — he went out there and pitched a phenomenal game. I just went out there and filled up the zone — obviously with the wind coming in I knew it was hard to hit a homer today; we hit a couple of balls hard for homers that didn’t go out. I just went out to fill up the zone and get outs. I’m going to do whatever it takes for this team; it’s good to be back in the bullpen for this outing.”

But when interviewed in the clubhouse afterwards, Cortes admitted to being pissed off that he was made into a reliever: “Obviously, I was upset. I feel like amongst all the starters, I’ve been the workhorse here. Once (Gerrit) Cole went down, they picked me to be the Opening Day starter; not necessarily the No. 1, but the Opening Day starter. I had to switch my routine there, and now they do this. ”

“I’m never going to back down from a challenge; I’m never going to leave my teammates out to dry,” added Cortes. “You’re always going to get my best effort, no matter if I’m happy or not. That’s what I did today. I just came out there and proved that I can be put in any situation, and from here on out, if that’s what’s my role, then I’ll accept it.”

NY improves to 82-60 and takes back 1st place by .5 game as Baltimore lost. Chicago drops to 72-20.

1. Yanks Jump on Top

The Yanks were up against Javier Assad, a 26-year-old, 6’1 righty who came in with a 7-4 3.21 record. Gleyber Torres led off the game with an infield single, and moved to 2nd with a walk to Juan Soto. The two then moved to 2nd and 3rd on a wild pitch by Assad.

Aaron Judge struck out for the 1st out, but Austin Wells got the job done with a groundout to 2nd, scoring the run and it was 1-0 Yankees.

After that Assad was tough, shutting down the Yanks with his 91-MPH sinker and 90-MPH cutter combo.

2. Schmidt Terrific

Meanwhile Clarke Schmidt was back on the mound for the first time since May, and was terrific. He used his assortment of pitches — including his 95-MPH sinker, 93-MPH cutter, 87-MPH sweeper, and 83-MPH knuckle curve to confound the Cubs.

3. Wells Throws Out 2 Speedsters!

Schmidt was helped in the 4th by catcher Austin Wells — who threw out 2nd baseman Nico Hoerner trying to steal 2nd for the final out of the inning. Hoerner has stolen 28 bases this year and that was only the 5th time he has been caught.

Wells also helped Schmidt out in the 5th, nailing centerfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong trying to steal 2nd after he had singled with 1 out. Crow-Armstrong has stolen 26 bases this year and that was only the 2nd time he’d been caught.

4. Schmidt an Out from a Win; Cortes Gets It

Schmidt was up against a pitch limit and was an out away from qualifying for a victory, leading 1-0 with 2 outs in the 5th. But the wind — which played havoc on the ball all afternoon — took a fly by Wisdom that should have been the final out and sent it close to the brick wall in right, just fair and just out of reach of Juan Soto who had to be wary of the wall. It went for a 2-out triple.

With the runner on 3rd and 2 outs in the 1-0 game, Nestor Cortes came in to get the final out on a foul out by Bethancourt.

The consolation to relieving for Cortes is that he ended up getting the win, and goes to 9-10 3.97.

5. Yanks Make It 2-0 in 6th

Assad was tough all afternoon, but in the top of the 6th, Aaron Judge led off with a walk in the 1-0 game. Assad got Austin Wells and Giancarlo Stanton, but Jazz Chisholm Jr.reached on an infield single.

Chicago brought in Drew Smyly to pitch — and Judge and Chisholm executed a double-steal; the catcher Christian Bethancourt threw the ball past 3rd for an error and Judge scored. NY 2 Chicago 0.

6. Cortes Terrific

Meanwhile a pissed-off (as we learned afterwards) Nestor Cortes just absolutely mowed down the Cubs — pitching 4.2 innings of no-hit baseball on just 48 pitches, walking just 1 and striking out 3.

Cortes had an absolutely filthy changeup going, and his fastball was crisp.

Despite Cortes’s brilliance — mowing down Chicago with ease — manager Aaron Boone had Luke Weaver warming in the pen for the 9th, just in case he was needed. Cortes was to face two lefties to start the 9th and then a righty, in the 2-0 game.

But Cortes got the outs 1-2-3 so fast Boone didn’t have time to make any moves. A groundout that bounced off Cortes’s butt that he picked up and threw to 1st for the out, a liner up the middle just past Cortes, that Gleyber fielded for the out, and an easy grounder to Gleyber at 2nd for the old ballgame.

Etcetera

Anthony Rizzo continued to be cheered by the Chicago Cubs fans for all he did there, including helping them win a World Series for the first time in forever. He is the Cubs Lou Gehrig.

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore/_/gameId/401570601

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