Tim Hill’s success makes Aaron Boone’s choice of Nestor Cortes look worse

LOS ANGELES – A day late and a dollar short.

The Yankees brought lefty Tim Hill into the game in the bottom of the fifth inning on Saturday after facing Nestor Cortes in the 10th inning of Game 1 of the World Series on Friday, which ended with Freddie Freeman’s historic grand slam.

The results in Saturday’s 4-2 loss in Game 2 only made Friday’s decision seem worse, as left-handed left-hander Hill came in and brought Game 1 hero Freeman to short, and then Tommy Edman – who to Hit a home run and a double to start the game 2 – I want to end the fifth with the Yankees trailing by three runs.

Hill retired all four batters he faced – including the first two in the sixth – before being replaced by Clay Holmes.

It was another example of the journeyman Hill the Yankees picked up from the moribund White Sox earlier in the year to get hitters out – something Cortes hadn’t done for 37 days before entering Game 1 after missing over a month with an elbow injury.

“I’m good with Nestor,” Aaron Boone said of his decision Friday, choosing Cortes over Hill.
The manager noted that he wanted Cortes with one out in the 10th in Game 1 because he would have a better chance of a strikeout with two runners on base, the tying run on second and a go-ahead run on first wanted.

If there were two outs, he would have chosen Hill, who has more pitches to make contact.

“Even in hindsight, I feel like (Cortes’ decision) was the right one-out move,” Boone said.
Maybe, but things didn’t look good on Saturday.

Hill has allowed just one earned run in seven postseason innings this year, with six hits, one walk and three strikeouts.

Hill declined to hypothesize how he would have performed had he had the chance to pitch Friday.
“You can’t think like that,” Hill said.

Follow the Post’s coverage of the Yankees in the postseason:

Regarding the post-game controversy, Hill said: “I try not to get involved in those kinds of conversations. It’s just a distraction. There are many distractions. I fully believe in Boone and every decision he makes. If it’s not my turn, it’s not my turn. … My job is to throw the ball. He decides when and where.”

As for Cortes, the left-hander said he’s ready to pitch again at any time after hitting the game-winning grand slam to Freeman in Game 1, and the Yankees are confident his elbow is fine.

Still, pitching coach Matt Blake admitted he was worried – at least to some extent – about Cortes’ mindset after allowing one of the biggest gut-punch home runs in franchise history.

“I’m a little bit, but maybe less with him than others,” Blake said before Game 2 at Dodger Stadium. “He’s resilient and seemed pretty good (Saturday) and I know he felt good, so we’ll see.”