Yankees will start Cortes in Game 5 on short rest

New York Yankees starting pitcher Nestor Cortes. Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Yankees will start Nestor Cortes in Game 5 on short rest

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Larry Brown | Last updated 10/17/22

Monday’s rainout for Game 5 of the ALDS between the New York Yankees and Cleveland Guardians has led to a change in the pitching matchup.

The original pitching matchup for Monday was Jameson Taillon and Aaron Civale. Neither pitcher has previously made a postseason start in his career.

Thanks to the game being postponed until Tuesday, the Game 2 starters each had another day of rest. According to Tom Withers, the Yankees are going with Nestor Cortes in Game 5 on short rest.

Cleveland has not made any announcements about their starter, but they could bring back Game 2 starter Shane Bieber on short rest rather than go with Civale.

Zach Meisel had previously said the Guardians would stick with Civale even if the game were postponed.

The league and teams are conferencing at 6pm to reassess the weather situation for tonight.

Shane Bieber is not available tonight. That’s a Terry Francona/Carl Willis executive decision.

Aaron Civale would still start if the game is pushed to tomorrow.

— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) October 17, 2022

Civale has not pitched since Oct. 5.

Nestor Cortes has started a game on 3 days rest one time in his career:

9/10/2019 at Detroit

His line: 2.1 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 2 ER

Shane Bieber has never started a game on 3 days rest.

— #BELIEVELAND (@OurCLEGuardians) October 18, 2022

Bieber has never started on 3 days of rest. Cortes started once on short rest in 2019, and his results were not great. Both Bieber and Cortes allowed two runs in their starts in Game 2, which Cleveland won 4-2 in 10 innings. Taillon took the loss pitching in relief during the game.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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