Nestor Cortes took another step closer to a Yankees return on Friday night.

The left-hander threw four scoreless innings for Double-A Somerset, allowing two hits and a walk with five strikeouts.

It was the second rehab start for Cortes, who is working back from a strained left rotator cuff.

The 28-year-old allowed one run with four strikeouts over 2 1/3 innings on Sunday.

Cortes went deeper into his Friday night start, throwing 49 pitches (36 strikes) and got off to a hot start by fanning three of the first four hitters he faced.

The only real threat he saw was in the top of the second when Bowie put runners on the corners with two outs after a single and a walk.

But Cortes was undeterred and induced a groundout to end the frame.

He yielded just one more baserunner the rest of the way on a one-out single in the fourth, but the southpaw ended the inning — and his outing — with a ground ball double play.

Earlier in the week, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Cortes would likely need one or two more rehab starts before joining the team, and that he did not “envision” going to a six-man rotation.

After an All-Star season in 2022, Cortes has struggled this year with a 5.16 ERA and 1.298 WHIP over 59 1/3 big league innings before landing on the injured list on June 8.