Judge HR & Bellinger Game-Saving Catch Win It. NY 4 KC 3

April 17, 2025 paperbacklou 2025 0
Cody Bellinger with game-saving catch in the 9th with 2 outs and runner on 2nd and NY leading 4-3.

Aaron Judge broke a 3-3 tie with a go-ahead Homer in the bottom of the 7th, and Clay Bellinger made a spectacular diving catch in right field with 2 outs and the tying run on 2nd in the 9th, as the Yanks beat KC 4-3 on a chilly Wednesday night in the Bronx.

It gave Fernando Cruz the first save of his career, as Devin Williams and Luke Weaver had both pitched 2 nights in a row coming in. Mark Leiter got the win in relief. Clarke Schmidt pitched great in his first start of the year, leaving in the 6th with the score tied 3-3.

Judge had doubled and scored the Yanks’ 1st run on a 2-RBI double by Anthony Volpe in the 3rd inning, and Bellinger had an RBI double in the 4th to give NY a 3-1 lead at the time.

A great night all around for the Yankees as they sweep the 3-game series against Kansas City, whom they met in the 1st round of last year’s playoffs.

“It was something that meant a lot to me,” said Fernando Cruz on the 2-inning save. “I’m helping my dream team win games in special situations.”

On his 1st MLB save, Cruz said “Everything you do in the big leagues for the first time is really special. And doing it for the Yankees, Yankee Stadium full, 1-run game, 6 outs, it couldn’t be better.”

NY improves to 11-7 (a 99-win pace). KC drops to 8-11.

1. Schmidt Starts Slow, then Mows Down 10 in a Row

Clarke Schmidt was shut down for a couple of weeks in Spring Training due to right rotator cuff tendinitis. Rehab cost him the beginning of the season, so he was making his 1st of the year.

He got into trouble in the top of the 1st, when he allowed a 1-out single to Bobby Witt Jr., walked Vinnie Pasquantino, and allowed an RBI single to Salvador Perez.

But with runners on 1st and 2nd, he got the next 2 batters on a fly out and a strikeout, and proceeded to mow down 11 in a row — pitching a 1-2-3 inning in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.

2. Volpe 2-RBI Double Gives NY Lead in 3rd

Meanwhile, the Yanks were up against Kris Bubic, the 6’3 lefty reliever turned into elite starter, who came into the game with a 2-1 0.96 record. Bubic started his career as a starter, and after relieving for KC last year, is back to being a starter this year.

The Yanks loaded the bases on Bubic in the bottom of the 1st with 1 out, on a Paul Goldschmidt leadoff walk, and Aaron Judge 1-out single, and a Jazz Chisholm Jr. single. But Bubic struck out Anthony Volpe and got Austin Wells to fly out.

Bubic then got a 1-2-3 inning in the 2nd so talk on the broadcast is how a team needs to get to an elite starter when they have the chance otherwise he might get momentum.

Bubic got the first 2 outs of the 3rd, when the Yanks struck again — an Aaron Judge double to right, a Jazz Chisholm Jr.walk — and this time Anthony Volpe delivered with a 2-RBI double to left. NY 2 KC 1.

3. Bellinger RBI Double Gives NY 3-1 Lead in 4th

NY pounced on Bubic again in the bottom of the 3rd — Oswald Peraza with a 2-out single to left, Paul Goldschmidt with a single to right, and Cody Bellinger with an RBI double — NY 3 KC 1.

4. Schmidt Makes Mistake in 6th

By the 5th the Yanks had gotten him a 3-1 lead, but he allowed a leadoff single to Waters, and then a 1-out triple to Isbel on a 90-MPH cutter and it was a 3-2 game. Jonathan India grounded out to score Isbel and the score was tied 3-3.

Schmidt got the first 2 outs of the 6th — both groundouts — before walking Maikel Garcia and being lifted at 73 pitches by Mark Leiter Jr. who was on the mound when Austin Wells gunned down Garcia trying to steal, ending the inning.

5. Leiter Gets the Win

Mark Leiter Jr.pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the 7th — using his curve-splitter mix for a strike out, ground out, and strike out — keeping the score 3-3.

6. Judge HR Puts NY Up 4-3 in 7th

And Aaron Judge untied it, leading off the bottom of the 7th with a 382-foot homer to center off J Schreiber for a 4-3 Yankee lead.

7. Fernando for the 2-Inning Save

With Luke Weaver and Devin Williams having both pitched both prior nights, Fernando Cruz came in for a 2-inning save. He used his Nasty 81-MPH splitter, and occasional 95-MPH sinker to pitch a 1-2-3 inning in the 8th, striking out 2.

Cruz allowed a leadoff single to Pasquantino in the 9th, but got him erased on a double play groundout by Salvador Perez on an 81-MPH splitter.

But he walked Maikel Garcia, who then went to 2nd on a wild pitch by Cruz. With the tying run on 2nd and 2 outs — MJ Melendez stepped to the plate.

8. Bellinger Saves Game in the 9th

And Melendez lined a 2-1 splitter to right — where Cody Bellinger — playing rightfield as Judge was the DH for the night — made a Spectacular catch for the old ballgame.

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore/_/gameId/401695172

 

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