Nestor Cortes, Yankees struggle in ugly 15-2 loss to Rangers

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Josh Jung hit a first-inning grand slam against Nestor Cortes, Nathanial Lowe and Adolis García added home runs off the All-Star, and the Texas Rangers routed the Yankees 15-2 Sunday and sent slumping New York to its sixth loss in eight games.

Cortes (3-2) had the worst outing of his Yankees career, allowing seven runs and five hits in 4 2/3 innings along with four of New York’s eight walks. His ERA climbed from 3.49 to 4.91, double his 2.88 last season when he became a first-time All-Star.

Fellow All-Star Martín Pérez (4-1) gave up one run and six hits in six innings for Texas, which has won three straight following a four-game losing streak. Jung tied his career high with five RBIs.

New York allowed its most runs since a 19-5 defeat to Cleveland on Aug. 15, 2019. The Yankees are 15-14 following a 2-5 trip, tied for last in the AL East.

Yankees captain Aaron Judge missed his third straight game with a mild hip strain, joining Giancarlo Stanton (left hamstring strain), Harrison Bader (left oblique strain) and third baseman Josh Donaldson (right hamstring strain) on the sidelines. New York has totaled eight runs during its last six losses.

Lowe and García homered in a three-pitch span of the fifth. After Cortes retired Jung, Albert Abreu relieved and gave up a home run to his first batter, Jonah Heim.

Cortes issued consecutive one-out walks to Robbie Grossman and Lowe in the first, and García singled down the right-field line with Oswaldo Cabrera shifted to right-center. Jung hit an opposite-field drive over the right-field wall on a 2-2 sweeper for his first career slam. Cortes had not allowed a slam since Sept. 28, 2019, at the Rangers’ old ballpark.

Heim had three hits and Grossman extended his hitting streak to 11 games.

SPEEDING ALONG

The game took 2 hours, 30 minutes, a day after Nathan Eovaldi pitched a three-hit shutout in 2 hours, 6 minutes, the fastest nine-inning Yankees game since a 2:04 game against Minnesota on June 18, 1996.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Yankees: RHP Luis Severino, sidelined since March 21 by a right lat strain, is to make his first minor league rehab start Wednesday or Thursday for Class A Tampa. … OF Franchy Cordero traveled from Texas to Worcester, Massachusetts, on Saturday after he was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Then after Jake Bowers bruised his right knee Saturday, Cordero headed back to Texas on Sunday to join the Yankees taxi squad. Yankees manager Aaron Boone said an MRI of Bowers’ knee didn’t show a need for an IL stint. … Bader went 0 for 4 for Scranton and is 3 for 25 (.125) with one RBI over seven games of his minor league rehab.