ST. PETRSBURG, Fla. -- Nestor Cortes took a three-hit shutout into the ninth inning, Matt Carpenter sparked a go-ahead, three-run rally in his Yankees debut and New York beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-2 Thursday night in the first meeting of the AL East rivals this season.
Cortes (4-1) won his third straight start, striking out five and walking one in eight-plus innings. The 27-year-old left-hander lowered his ERA to 1.70, retiring 14 in a row during one stretch. He threw 77 strikes among a career-high 109 pitches.
Cortes has allowed three earned runs or fewer in 18 consecutive starts, two shy of the team record set by Russ Ford in 1910.