Cortes will start Friday's game against the Astros, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.
Yusei Kikuchi was scratched from his scheduled start with neck spasms shortly before first pitch, so Cortes will step in on short notice. The southpaw hasn't pitched more than two innings in any of his relief appearances this season, and it's unclear how big a workload he'll be able to handle in Friday's contest. Cortes carries a 7.36 ERA and 1.50 WHIP over 7.1 innings to begin the season.