"It just felt like, I missed a lot of pitches and locations" - Yankees Nestor Cortes Jr. shares his take on his bad start vs. Blue Jays

New York Yankees ace Nestor Cortes Jr. wasn't at his best against the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday. He could only last 4.1 innings, in which he allowed seven hits and three earned runs while striking out five.

The Blue Jays outdueled the Yankees 9-3 in the third game of the ongoing four-game series. This was New York's 10th loss in the last 13 games. After the game, Cortes Jr. reflected on his rough outing (via YES Network):

“It just felt like, from the beginning, just missed a lot of pitches, a lot of locations. And they put a lot of good swings on balls that I thought were pretty well-located. Just overall, I mean, they're swinging hot bats right now, but I've got to do a better job of coming out in the first [inning] and putting pressure.”

Nestor Cortes Jr. allowed a two-run homer to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the first. Catcher Alejandro Kirk scored an RBI double against the southpaw in the fourth inning.

Yankees bullpen surrender six runs after Nestor Cortes Jr.'s exit

MLB: New York Yankees at Toronto Blue Jays (IMAGN)

After Aaron Boone pulled out Nestor Cortes Jr. from the game, the Yankees were trailing 3-1. However, their bullpen gave up five runs in the bottom of the sixth as the Blue Jays captured a sizeable 8-1 lead in the game.

Phil Bickford was on the mound to start the sixth inning for the Yankees. First up, he allowed a double to George Springer, followed by a single from Daulton Varsho. Kirk drove in Springer from third. Bickford then retired two straight before walking Bo Bichette. Isiah-Kiner Falefa singled to left field, allowing Varsho to score.

Boone then replaced Bickford with Caleb Ferguson, against whom Guerrero Jr. scored a bases-clearing double to left field, taking the lead to 8-1. The first baseman again drove in a run in the eighth to take his RBI count to sixth for the game.

On the mound for the Blue Jays, Chris Bassitt was too good for the Yankees hitters. He pitched six scoreless innings, earning a win for the team. Cortes Jr.'s ERA dropped to 3.51, going 4-7 in 18 games pitched.

The Yankees will try to tie the series in Game 4 at Rogers Center on Sunday.