Nestor Cortes throws a gem as he fights for a spot in the Yankees' playoff rotation

SEATTLE – On a night the Yankees clinched their ticket to the postseason, Nestor Cortes continued to make his case for a spot in their playoff rotation.

The left-hander delivered six scoreless innings against the Mariners on Wednesday night at T-Mobile Park en route to a 2-1 victory in 10 innings.

“I'm just trying to do my part here and compete with the best guys in the league,” Cortes said amid a boisterous champagne and beer celebration in the visitors' clubhouse.

Cortes has now posted a 1.58 ERA in his last six appearances – one of which was a long relief appearance when the Yankees put him in the bullpen in the first round of the rotation.

Although Cortes has experience as a bullpen player and could help the Yankees there in October, he has also started in playoff games and has shown that the big stage does not intimidate him.

“Nestor has done a fantastic job for us this year,” said Gerrit Cole. “He took the ball every time, no matter what role we assigned him. He pitched well and gave us a chance to win almost every time he was on the field.”

Marcus Stroman is currently the underdog in the bullpen in this rotation, but the Yankees will have to cut another starter or two once they reach the playoffs.

Wednesday's performance was Cortes' fourth scoreless appearance in his last seven games.

He limited the Mariners to four hits (one of them a double by Justin Turner that Jasson Dominguez should have caught in center field) and three walks while recording six strikeouts.

“I think he's throwing the ball really well,” manager Aaron Boone said. “I think it's been a really strong year for Nestor.”

Aside from his five-week break due to a thigh strain, Giancarlo Stanton missed the second game in a row on Wednesday for the first time this season.

Stanton said he was feeling fine physically, but was benched for the second day in a row as Aaron Judge got another day as DH to keep him fresh for the final stretch.

“We are not going to make this a story about how I feel [about not playing],” Stanton said before the game. “We'll get by either way.”

Stanton explained that his absence on Tuesday was due to the opposing position against strong right-hander Bryan Woo.

Then he couldn't play on Wednesday or Thursday (since Thursday was a day game after a night game) and the Yankees decided Thursday (against right-hander Logan Gilbert) was a better day for him to be in the lineup.

The consecutive days off may have more to do with Boone Judge wanting to get back into the swing of things at this point in the season after regularly playing in the demanding midfield.

“Judgey is good but I appreciate these days for him at this time of year, especially after a bad day. [Monday]”, Boone said. “As much as we've relied on him and others, that's something I certainly want to keep in mind this time of year.”

Boone indicated that Stanton – who was 4-for-34 with two doubles in his last 10 games – would be a consistent addition to the lineup for the remainder of the game.

After Clay Holmes allowed a home run to Justin Turner in the eighth inning to tie the game, Luke Weaver came in and struck out four players in 1 ²/₃ ⅔ innings, sending the game into overtime. … The Yankees recorded 15 strikeouts, more than ever this season.