<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/brewers-news-milwaukee-gm-eases-nestor-cortes-injury-concerns-devin-williams-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'Brewers GM eases Nestor Cortes injury concerns after Devin Williams trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Brewers-news-Milwaukee-GM-eases-Nestor-Cortes-injury-concerns-after-Devin-Williams-trade.jpg"></figure><h1>Brewers GM eases Nestor Cortes injury concerns after Devin Williams trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-13T17:40:34-08:00">December 13th, 5:40pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-13T17:40:34-08:00">December 13th, 5:40pm</time><address><a>Dan Fappiano</a>Dan Fappiano is a Connecticut based sports journalist and a graduate of both Tunxis Community College and Central Connecticut State University. Dan has spent time covering high school and professional sports in both the print and online medium. He hopes to see his beloved Chicago Bears win a Super Bowl someday.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Milwaukee Brewers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Milwaukee <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/yankees-news-new-york-devin-williams-brewers-trade">Brewers sent shockwaves across MLB when they traded star closer Devin Williams</a> to the New York Yankees. Inside the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/grading-yankees-brewers-devin-williams-trade">Brewers’ trade return was standout pitcher Nestor Cortes</a>.</p><p>The left-hander had to miss the end of the regular season and New York’s first two postseason series due to an elbow flexor strain. However, <a href="https://x.com/AdamMcCalvy/status/1867666739024343517" rel="noopener">as he prepares to join</a> the Brewers, General Manager Matt Arnold is expecting a fully healthy Cortes, via Adam McCalvy of MLB.com.</p><p>Arnold stated that Cortes has had a fully healthy offseason. Furthermore, the GM said that Milwaukee put in plenty of leg work while going through the lefty’s medical records. Ultimately, when they signed off on the trade, the Brewers’ decision makers were confident Cortes will be ready to be a full-time difference maker in 2025.</p><p>Outside of one-year stops with the Baltimore Orioles and Seattle Mariners, Cortes has spent six of his seven major league seasons with the Yankees. In that time, he has recorded a 33-20 record with a 3.61 ERA and a 575/160 K/BB ratio. He was named an All-Star for the first and to this point only time in his career in 2022, when he posted a 12-4 record, 2.44 ERA and 163/38 K/BB ratio.</p><p>Even with all his late season injuries, Nestor Cortes still appeared in 31 games for the Yankees in 2024. He pitched to a 9-10 record, 3.77 ERA and 162/39 K/BB ratio over a career-high 174.1 innings pitched.</p><p>With Freddy Peralta atop their rotation, Milwaukee finished fifth in ERA (3.65) during the 2024 season. However, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/brewers-news-christian-yelich-brandon-woodruff-spring-training-injury-updates">Brandon Woodruff is still dealing with a worrying injury</a>. Furthermore, the Brewers will have no problem building on a position of strength as long as the Chicago <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cubs-news-mlb-world-shambles-after-astros-cubs-kyle-tucker-trade">Cubs are making a push</a>.</p><p>While Milwaukee had to losing Devin Williams to make the deal happen, it seemed inevitable. He is set to be a free agent after the 2025 campaign and earn a big contract.</p><p>Despite losing their closer, the Brewers are still the defending NL Central champions. With a healthy Cortes, Arnold is confident Milwaukee can run it back.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Brewers GM eases Nestor Cortes injury concerns after Devin Williams trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/yankees-news-tim-hill-aaron-boone-nestor-cortes');   ga('set', 'title', 'Yankees’ Tim Hill’s blunt reaction to Aaron Boone’s Nestor Cortes decision');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/10-26-24-yankees-featured.jpeg"></figure><h1>Yankees’ Tim Hill’s blunt reaction to Aaron Boone’s Nestor Cortes decision</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-26T11:05:13-07:00">October 26th, 11:05am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-26T15:55:19-07:00">October 26th, 3:55pm</time><address><a>David Korn</a>David Korn is an MLB associate editor at ClutchPoints. He is also a producer at MLB Network Radio and covers college basketball for A10Talk. David graduated from George Washington in 2023, where he was the radio play-by-play broadcaster for their Men's and Women's Basketball teams.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>One of the biggest storylines after the New York Yankees’ heartbreaking loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of the World Series was manager <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/yankees-news-aaron-boone-reveals-why-nestor-cortes-face-freddie-freeman">Aaron Boone’s decision to have Nestor Cortes pitch</a> in the 10th inning. After getting Shohei Ohtani out and intentionally walking Mookie Betts, Cortes gave up a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/dodgers-freddie-freeman-walks-off-yankees-grand-slam-bomb-in-game-1-world-series">walk-off grand slam to Freddie Freeman</a> to give the Dodgers the 6-3 win.</p><p>While Cortes has been one of the Yankees’ better starting pitchers this season, he had not appeared in a game in 37 days due to an elbow injury. The Yankees had another pitcher available in the bullpen, Tim Hill, who Boone elected not to use in the Game 1 loss.</p><p>Hill, who has arguably been the Yankees’ best reliever this postseason, addressed being <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5874017/2024/10/26/yankees-world-series-aaron-boone-nestor-cortes-decision/" rel="noopener">passed over</a> by Boone for Cortes after the game to Brendan Kuty of The Athletic.</p><p>“Why don’t you ask Boonie,” Hill said. “I just pitch, bro.”</p><p>About a half hour later, Hill followed up his initial statement with a more lengthy explanation, per Kuty.</p><p>“[Cortes] had one situation and I had the other. So, he got it,” Hill said. “Know what I mean? I’m sorry, but that’s all I got.”</p><h2><b>Why Yankees’ Aaron Boone went to Nestor Cortes instead of Tim Hill</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/10-26-24-boone-image.jpeg"><figcaption>© Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Boone initially brought in Cortes to face Shohei Ohtani for the left-on-left matchup. That move made sense, with Ohtani being just 2-for-12 in his career against Cortes. That specific matchup worked, as Cortes was able to get Ohtani out with some help from left fielder Alex Verdugo, who flew into the Dodgers crowd while making a running catch in foul territory.</p><p>After walking Betts to bring up <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/yankees-news-giancarlo-stanton-strong-nestor-cortes-message-after-allowing-freddie-freeman-walk-off-homer">Freeman with the bases loaded, Cortes’ luck ran out</a>, leaving many to wonder why Boone chose to go with him instead of Hill. In seven appearances this postseason, Hill has given up just one run and been one of the Yankees’ most reliable pitchers out of the bullpen.</p><p>While Hill is more of a ground-ball pitcher, which could also explain why Boone went with Cortes to face the speedy Ohtani with just one out and runners on first and second, his performance this postseason should have been enough for Boone to trust him in this high-leverage situation instead of going with a starting pitcher who had not pitched in over a month.</p><p>The spotlight will be on Boone to see how he manages his bullpen in a crucial Game 2 down 1-0 in the World Series.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Yankees’ Tim Hill’s blunt reaction to Aaron Boone’s Nestor Cortes decision

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/dodgers-freddie-freeman-game-1-walk-off-grand-slam-nestor-cortes');   ga('set', 'title', 'The brutally honest truth of Freddie Freeman’s Game 1 walk-off grand slam off Nestor Cortes');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0Freeman-Cortes-article0.jpg"></figure><h1>The brutally honest truth of Freddie Freeman’s Game 1 walk-off grand slam off Nestor Cortes</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-26T10:29:35-07:00">October 26th, 10:29am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-26T10:32:55-07:00">October 26th, 10:32am</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter, Dallas Wings beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from Lake Arrowhead, California. Mistretta graduated from Biola University with a degree in broadcast journalism.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Dodgers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>An October night in Los Angeles often has plenty of buzz around the city. The Los Angeles Dodgers are often in the postseason, while the Los Angeles Lakers are typically beginning their season. That was the case on Friday night with both teams playing, and both teams won on Friday night. The Dodgers took care of business against the New York Yankees in Game 1 of the World Series, as a walk-off Freddie Freeman grand slam gave LA a 6-3 victory to begin the Fall Classic. In order to fully understand what occurred on Friday, though, we need to rewind and take a look back.</p><h2><b>Nestor Cortes</b></h2><p>Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes had not pitched in over a month. He was <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/yankees-news-massive-nestor-cortes-jr-world-series-decision">selected to the Yankees postseason roster</a> as a potential relief arm, though. Cortes was probably going to be used only in long relief, right? A pitcher who could enter a game early and give the Yankees some innings out of the bullpen, he surely wouldn’t be used in the 10th inning to get a save…. Would he?</p><p>Well, that is what occurred in Game 1 of the World Series. Yankees manager <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/yankees-news-aaron-boone-reveals-why-nestor-cortes-face-freddie-freeman">Aaron Boone made the decision to turn to Cortes</a> in the 10th with the Yankees leading 3-2. He liked the matchup of Cortes, a left-handed pitcher, facing Freeman, a left-handed batter.</p><p>Cortes made only one pitch to Freeman, a 92.5 MPH fastball. The fastball crossed the plate in and down to Freeman, and Freddie was all over it. Freeman utilized his short left-handed swing and deposited the baseball into the right field bleachers.</p><p>So why throw that pitch in that situation? Sure, it was only the first pitch of the at-bat, but we live in an era of sports where every single play has a purpose with advanced thinking behind it.</p><h2><b>Freddie Freeman</b></h2><p>Freeman has dealt with injury trouble in the postseason. The Dodgers first baseman has even had to miss some playoff games. He made it clear that he was planning to play in the first game of the World Series, however. This immediately had Dodgers fans thinking that perhaps Freeman could have a Kirk Gibson-like moment… but that would not actually happen, would it?</p><p>As Freeman stepped to the plate, he knew all he needed was a single. Heck, a walk or a hit-by-pitch would do the trick. He had a respectable, albeit far from spectacular game at the plate heading into the 10th inning, as Freeman was 1-4.</p><p>Now Freeman was surely sitting on a fastball in that moment. After all, a walk would tie the game for the Dodgers, so Cortes and the Yankees probably would not want to risk throwing an off-speed pitch to begin the at-bat due to the possibility of falling behind in the count. Freeman had only faced Cortes three times before Friday’s game, so he did not have too much familiarity with the Yankees left-hand pitcher.</p><p>But a fastball to a left-handed slugger is a fastball to a left-handed slugger. One of baseball’s oldest adages is <i>do not miss down and in to a left-handed hitter</i>, but that is the mistake Cortes made.</p><h2><b>The pitch and swing that changed everything</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Freddie-Freeman-on-Oct.-25-2024.jpg"><figcaption>Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Bases loaded, bottom of the 10th, two outs. Freeman at the plate, Cortes on the mound. Dodger Stadium is filled with excitement as fans nervously await the first pitch of the at-bat.</p><p>Cortes looked in and did not shake off his catcher. The Yankees had a mound visit before Freeman stepped to the plate so they surely knew what they were going to throw in that spot. The catcher set up in the middle of the plate, making it uncertain as to exactly where the Yankees wanted the pitch to end up. As Cortes’ fastball left his hand, the Yankees catcher moved closer to Freeman, suggesting New York wanted the pitch on the inside corner.</p><p>In all fairness to the Yankees, Freeman excels at taking the ball the other way. He is no stranger to hitting doubles/home runs to left or center field. But to throw a get-me-over fastball on the inside part of the plate when Freeman is likely waiting on a fastball is, well, a questionable decision at best.</p><p>Freddie Freeman took a big swing and crushed the ball. He seemingly knew it was gone as soon as he swung the bat as Dodger Stadium erupted with fans cheering.</p><p>What a moment. It rivals Kirk Gibson’s walk-off 1988 World Series home run. Both Gibson and Freeman were dealing with injuries when they hit their homers, and both players accomplished each feat in Game 1 of their respective World Series.</p><p>The job is not finished for the 2024 Dodgers, but Game 1 will be remembered in MLB history regardless of who ends up winning the series.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

The brutally honest truth of Freddie Freeman’s Game 1 walk-off grand slam off Nestor Cortes

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/yankees-news-giancarlo-stanton-strong-nestor-cortes-message-after-allowing-freddie-freeman-walk-off-homer');   ga('set', 'title', 'Yankees star Giancarlo Stanton’s strong Nestor Cortes message after allowing Freddie Freeman walk-off homer');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Yankees-star-Giancarlo-Stantons-strong-Nestor-Cortes-message-after-allowing-Freddie-Freeman-walk-off-homer.jpg"></figure><h1>Yankees star Giancarlo Stanton’s strong Nestor Cortes message after allowing Freddie Freeman walk-off homer</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-26T08:39:11-07:00">October 26th, 8:39am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-26T15:41:05-07:00">October 26th, 3:41pm</time><address><a>Quinn Allen</a>Quinn Allen is a Senior Associate Editor with ClutchPoints. He specializes mainly in soccer, basketball, and baseball. When Quinn isn't producing content for CP,  he's writing sports betting predictions for numerous sites across North America.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Dodgers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/dodgers-freddie-freeman-walks-off-yankees-grand-slam-bomb-in-game-1-world-series">The New York Yankees lost an absolute heartbreaker</a> in Game 1 of the 2024 World Series on Friday night, with Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Freddie Freeman smacking a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the 10th inning.</p><p>The Bronx Bombers scored a run in the top of the 10th, and Yankees manager <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/yankees-news-aaron-boone-reveals-why-nestor-cortes-face-freddie-freeman">Aaron Boone decided to turn to left-hander Nestor Cortes</a> for matchup purposes, even though he hadn’t pitched in 37 days due to injury. He initially got Shohei Ohtani to fly out before intentionally walking Mookie Betts. That’s when Freeman stepped up and took Cortes deep on the first pitch he saw.</p><p>Following the heartbreaking defeat, Giancarlo Stanton <a href="https://twitter.com/GaryHPhillips/status/1850189566424047967" rel="noopener">sent reporters a strong message</a> about Cortes. Via Gary Phillips:</p><p>“It’s not the end of him,” Stanton said. </p><p>The reality is that Boone put Cortes in a very tough spot. Would the southpaw use that as an excuse? Absolutely not. He definitely wanted to be in that moment with the game on the line. It’s what every young kid dreams of when they’re growing up playing baseball. The Cuban made one bad pitch, and Freeman made him pay. That’s really all there is to it.</p><p>The Yankees didn’t have Cortes on the ALDS or ALCS rosters as he continued to recover from an elbow injury. Given this is a seven-game series, Boone will likely use the lefty again in the series as a starter. He’ll have his chance to bounce back.</p><p>New York heads into Game 2 on Saturday night in serious need of a win to avoid a 2-0 hole heading back home. They will turn to Carlos Rodon here, who has a 4.40 ERA in the postseason. The Dodgers will counter with Japanese phenom Yoshinobu Yamamoto. He hasn’t pitched particularly well in the playoffs, posting a 5.11 ERA.</p><p>We’ll see if the Yankees can get to him early and make Dave Roberts call to his bullpen.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Yankees star Giancarlo Stanton’s strong Nestor Cortes message after allowing Freddie Freeman walk-off homer

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/yankees-news-aaron-boone-reveals-why-nestor-cortes-face-freddie-freeman');   ga('set', 'title', 'Yankees’ Aaron Boone reveals why he let Nestor Cortes face Freddie Freeman');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Yankees-Aaron-Boone-reveals-why-he-let-Nestor-Cortes-face-Freddie-Freeman.jpg"></figure><h1>Yankees’ Aaron Boone reveals why he let Nestor Cortes face Freddie Freeman</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-25T22:46:44-07:00">October 25th, 10:46pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-25T22:46:44-07:00">October 25th, 10:46pm</time><address><a>Tristin McKinstry</a>Tristin McKinstry is an experienced sports writer who got his start back in 2014. He is an Associate Editor with ClutchPoints and is one of the staff's NHL experts. Tristin has worked professionally with The Inquisitr and GIVEMESPORT in the past, and his work has also been featured on Last Word On Sports, XFL News Hub, and USFL News Hub. He is currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Communications at Southern New Hampshire University.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Dodgers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The baseball world is still processing <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/dodgers-news-freddie-freeman-clutch-grand-slam-has-fans-going-bonkers">the wild ending to Game 1 of the 2024 World Series</a> on Friday. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/dodgers-freddie-freeman-walks-off-yankees-grand-slam-bomb-in-game-1-world-series">Los Angeles Dodgers star Freddie Freeman hit a walk-off Grand Slam</a> in the 10th inning to defeat the New York Yankees. Before the home run, Yankees manager Aaron Boone made an interesting decision: he called for Nestor Cortes out of the bullpen.</p><p>Cortes has experience as a reliever in his career. However, he has served as a starting pitcher since 2021. In fact, he has exactly one relief appearance since the 2021 MLB season. Additionally, Cortes suffered an elbow injury back in mid-September, which caused him to miss a month of game action.</p><p>Boone <a href="https://x.com/snyyankees/status/1850022201463919000" rel="noopener">had a straightforward explanation</a> when asked about the decision on Friday night. Just liked the matchup. The reality is he has been throwing the ball really well the last few weeks as he’s gotten ready for this,” the Yankees manager said, via SNY. “I knew with one out there, it’d be tough to double up Shohei (Ohtani) if Tim Hill gets him on the ground. And with Mookie (Betts) behind him, it’s a tough matchup there. So I felt convicted with Nestor in that spot.”</p><h2><b>Yankees drop Game 1 amid World Series return</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Nestor-Cortes-pitch.jpg"><figcaption>Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Aaron Boone is leading the Yankees through their first World Series since 2009. And for a while, it seemed as if they would come out on top in Game 1. New York had leads of 2-1 and 3-2 late in this game. However, the Dodgers refused to go away on Friday night.</p><p>Boone’s decision to go with Nestor Cortes nearly worked, in fact. Cortes entered the game with one out in the 10th inning to face Shohei Ohtani. He was able to get Ohtani to foul out, though it required some extra effort from outfielder Alex Verdugo.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">WOW!!!</p><p>ALEX VERDUGO MAKES THE CATCH AND FLIPS OVER THE WALL 🤯 <a href="https://t.co/RD0gfw9jzf">pic.twitter.com/RD0gfw9jzf</a></p><p>— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBONFOX/status/1850018855801831564?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 26, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><p>However, the catch was rendered irrelevant one pitch later. The Yankees intentionally walked Mookie Betts. And Freddie Freeman — <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/dodgers-news-freddie-freeman-expects-to-be-ready-world-series">who returned from an ankle injury</a> on Friday — took the first pitch he saw over the right field wall.  The Dodgers turned a 3-2 deficit with two outs into a 6-3 win as Dodgers Stadium erupted.</p><p>It’s a crushing loss for the Yankees, but this series is not over. New York can get back into this series on Saturday night as the teams return to the diamond for Game 2. A loss would certainly put the Yankees in a bad spot, as they’d have to avoid losing two games with the World Series on the line once the series shifts to The Bronx for Games 3, 4, and 5.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2024 SEASON STATS
IP	ERA	K	WHIP	WINS
523	3.77	162	1.15	9

2024 SEASON STATS
IP	ERA	K	WHIP	WINS
523	3.77	162	1.15	9

Nestor Cortes

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Yankees star Giancarlo Stanton’s strong Nestor Cortes message after allowing Freddie Freeman walk-off homer

Yankees’ Aaron Boone reveals why he let Nestor Cortes face Freddie Freeman

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