Nestor Cortes returns to mound ahead of schedule

Yankees starting pitcher Nestor Cortes returned to the mound in Tampa on Friday morning. Aaron Boone and pitching coach Matt Blake looked on during the bullpen session.

As reported by SNY's Andy Martino, the left-hander was originally scheduled to miss a few weeks of throwing off of a mound with a right hamstring tweak that kept him out of the World Baseball Classic.

[sports.yahoo.com]