Bellinger's Three-Run Blast Breaks Open a Subway Series Slugfest

Cody Bellinger's 377-foot home run to right center in the second inning swung the win probability from 61% to 85% and effectively decided a 6-4 Yankees win over the Mets on September 11. The story of the night was a game that looked competitive for exactly one half-inning before New York's two teams headed in very different directions.

The Yankees drew first blood in the first when Spencer Jones singled to left, scoring Ben Rice and pushing runners to second and third. The Mets answered immediately in the second — a groundout by Morel plated Vientos to tie it at 1. That's when Bellinger ended the suspense. His three-run shot to right center, 377 feet, scored Volpe and Rice and pushed the Yankees to a 4-1 lead. Win probability jumped from 61% to 85% on that single swing, and the game never truly recovered its tension. Rice added a solo shot to left center in the fifth — 371 feet — to make it 5-1, and the Yankees tacked on an insurance run in the eighth when McMahon singled to left to score Caballero, extending the lead to 6-3.

The pitching split told the real story. Carlos Rodon was sharp: 6.1 innings, 3 hits, 1 earned run, 8 strikeouts. That's a performance that looks like a man pitching with purpose in September. Nolan McLean, starting for the Mets, had no such luck — he lasted just 5 innings, surrendering 10 hits and 5 earned runs. Jack Weisenburger came on in relief and was considerably cleaner, going 3 innings on 3 hits and 1 earned run, but the damage was already done.

The Mets made things mildly interesting late. A.J. Ewing drove in a run with a single to right in the seventh, and Marcus Semien's sacrifice fly to center in the eighth brought it to 6-3. Ewing then went deep to right in the ninth — 388 feet — to cut the deficit to two and give the final score some cosmetic respectability. But David Bednar closed it out for New York, and the Yankees walked away with a 6-4 win. Ewing finished 2-for-4 with a homer, 2 RBI, and a run — the kind of night that appears to be a consolation prize more than a comeback. Luis Garcia Jr. went 3-for-4 for the Yankees without driving in a run, which looks like a detail that won't matter much given how thoroughly the lineup did its damage everywhere else.