Pitchers are usually off limits to reporters before a start, but Nestor Cortes found himself in a casually chatty mood before his outing against the Marlins.
Like a lot of other Yankees, the southpaw veered from his usual pregame routine so that he could get a glimpse of the total solar eclipse that passed through New York City on Monday afternoon. With special safety glasses hanging from their faces, Cortes, Gerrit Cole, Juan Soto, Gleyber Torres, Aaron Boone, Matt Blake and numerous other players, coaches and front office members could be seen staring at the sun when the Yankees would have normally been taking batting practice.
“I think it’s cool to go see,” Boone said before the Yankees beat the Marlins, 7-0. “I’m gonna go from here and look at 3:25 p.m. and check it out.”
The Yankees and Marlins were originally supposed to play at 2:05 p.m. on Monday, but the eclipse pushed the game back to 6:05 p.m. A source told the Daily News that the adjustment was made out of precaution and safety.
The Yankees anticipated the phenomenon, as they gave away eclipse-themed t-shirts to the first 15,000 fans to arrive. Glasses were not on the promotional schedule, though safety awareness videos featuring NASA astronauts played on the jumbotron.
With gates opening at 3 p.m., fans filed into Yankee Stadium for a unique ballpark experience while apropos songs like Manfred Mann’s version of “Blinded by the Light” played. The Yankees later used Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart” for their daily “80s In The 8th” inning segment.
While all the personnel seen on the field appeared to avoid direct contact with the sun, Cortes and Cole both jokingly agreed: Tommy Kahnle would have been the Yankee most likely to look at the eclipse without the necessary eyewear. However, the injured reliever is not with the team in New York.
“We can’t be on the field for BP and that stuff from 2:10-4:40 p.m. I know that,” Boone said. “I don’t know if that’s advice or a mandate. Obviously, [excitement has] grown a little bit here as we’ve gotten glasses, and guys are interested in going to see it.”
Batting practice didn’t appear necessary, though, as the Yankees did most of their damage against Miami’s Jesús Luzardo in the fourth inning.
Anthony Volpe started the scoring with a three-run homer, a pull shot to left field for his second longball of the season. The second-year shortstop is now hitting an MLB-best .417.
A few batters after Volpe’s jack, Juan Soto crushed his second dinger of the year and first as a Yankee in the Bronx. Another three-run blast, the homer carried well over the right field wall.
A protective lens no longer needed, Soto gazed toward the sky as the ball made its way into the stands.
Volpe and Soto’s bombs overshadowed Cortes, who delivered his best start of the season.
The first inning gave him trouble in his first two starts, but Cortes cruised against the one-win Marlins, whose games he used to attend as a kid growing up in Hialeah, Florida. With the Yankees in need of length, Cortes twirled eight scoreless innings. He allowed just two hits and didn’t walk anyone while striking out six over 102 pitches.
With Monday’s series-opener — and a natural phenomenon — over with, the Yankees will turn to Carlos Rodón on Tuesday. A.J. Puk will start for Miami.
