Rodon, Bednar & Bombers with Team Win. Yankees 6 Mets 4

September 12, 2026 paperbacklou 2026 0
Cody Bellinger 3-run HR with 2 outs in 2nd gives Yankees 4-1 lead.

Carlos Rodon pitched a 2-hitter into the 7th, carrying a 5-1 lead off bombs from Cody Bellinger and Ben Rice — and the Yankee bullpen took it from there, with David Bednar getting a 5-out save — inducing Juan Soto to hit into a doubleplay to end it. Final score: Yankees 6 Mets 4 on a beautiful Friday night in the Bronx — a day of remembrance of the horrible things that happened on Sept 11, 2001.

There were other offensive heroes for the Yankees: Spencer Jones with 2 more hits including an RBI double to put the Yankees up 1-0 in the 1st, Ryan McMahon with a clutch RBI single in the 8th to give the Bombers an insurance run and 6-3 lead, and Luis Garcia Jr. SMOKED the ball 4 times for 3 hits — 2 off the right-field wall.

Yankee relievers Paul Blackburn and Brent Headrick both struggled — Blackburn allowing 3 baserunners and a run in the 7th, and having to be rescued by Headrick with bases loaded and 2 outs, and then Headrick himself loading the bases with 1 out in the 8th and having to be rescued by Bednar.

The Yankees peppered Mets starter Nolan McLean for 10 hits and 5 runs in 5 innings.

“Great at bats against McLean all night,” said manager Aaron Boone afterwards. “Had a chance to really break it open a couple of times. They hung in there and we couldn’t put the game away — it got a little dicey but we were able to hang on.”

The Yankees improve to 85-62 and remain 3 behind Tampa but pull 5.5 ahead of Boston. The Mets drop to 68-79.

1. Spencer Puts Yanks Up 1-0 in 1st

The Yankees peppered Nolan McClean — the Mets 25-year-old, 6’2 righthanded young Ace — from the start. McLean came in with an 11-8 3.06 record and left with an 11-9 3.24 record — he allowed 10 hits and 5 runs in 5 innings and it could have been more.

Ben Rice started off the bottom of the 1st with a single to right, next batter Cody Bellinger singled to right, and Aaron Judge worked a walk to load the bases with nobody out.

Luis Garcia Jr. smoked the ball — caught by 2nd baseman Marcus Semien. But next batter Spencer Jones singled for a 1-0 Yankee lead.

McLean then got George Lombard Jr. to hit into a double play to end the inning.

2. Bellinger 3-run Bomb in 2nd Gives Yanks 4-1 Lead

McClean then got the first 2 outs of the 2nd — lineouts by Ryan McMahon to center and Austin Wells to right — before Anthony Volpe and Ben Rice hit consecutive 2-out singles, and Cody Bellinger hit a 377-foot HR to right for a 4-1 Yankee lead.

3. Rice HR Makes It 5-1 Yanks in 5th

Luis Garcia SMOKED another ball to lead off the 3rd — banging it off the rightfield wall but then getting thrown out by Carson Benge trying to leg it into a double. McLean got the next 2 outs and pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the 4th.

But Ben Rice hit a 371-foot bom to opposite field left to lead off the 5th and it was 5-1 Yankees.

McClean then got a fly out but Aaron Judge and Luis Garcia Jr. ripped consecutive singles to left before McClean got the final 2 outs of the inning to end his outing.

4. Rodon Tremendous

Meanwhile Carlos Rodon was Tremendous for the Yankees. He allowed a run in the top of the 2nd to tie the game 1-1 on a leadoff walk to Vientos, 1-out single to Marcus Semien, and RBI groundout to Morel — but then started absolutely dominating with his Hard 94-MPH sinker and 87-MPH slider combo and 96-MPH four-seam fastball.

Rodon allowed only a 2-out single in the 3rd, and pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the 4th, 5th, and 6th — retiring 11 in a row before allowing a 1-out single in the 7th and being relieved by Paul Blackburn with a 5-1 lead.

Rodon got some help from his defense: George Lombard Jr. made a tremendous play in the field to end the 3rd.

And Luis Garcia Jr. made a tremendous play at 1st to tag the runner for an out and save Lombard from an error in the 6th.

5. Blackburn Gets in Trouble in 7th — Rescued by Headrick

Paul Blackburn relieved Rodon with 1 out and a runner on 1st in the 7th in a 5-1 game — and got in trouble, walking Semien, then getting a groundout, but allowing an RBI single to Ewing and walking Alvarez to load the bases with 2 outs.

Brent Headrick then got Francisco Lindor to line the ball right back to him for the final out of the inning. PHEW.

6. Palestinian Protester Tackled & Booed

While Headrick was pitching to Lindor, a Palestinian protester raced onto the field in center — and was immediately tackled, then booed out of the stadium with the centerfield fans throwing beer on him.

7. Headrick Gets in Trouble in 8th — Rescued by Bednar

Headrick got into his own trouble in the 8th — getting the first out, but then allowing a single to Bo Bichette and consecutive walks to load the bases with 1 out in a 5-2 game.

David Bednar came in and allowed a sac fly to Semien to make it 5-3, then got a fly out to center to end the inning. Phew.

8. McMahon Clutch RBI Single for Insurance Run in 8th

The Yanks got a huge insurance run in the bottom of the 8th — Luis Garcia Jr. SMOKED another ball off the right-field wall, and this time stayed at 1st with a single. Spencer Jones singled to left, George Lombard Jr. sacrificed the runners to 2nd and 3rd, and Ryan McMahon got a clutch, 1-out bloop single to left for a 6-3 Yankee lead.

9. Bednar Gets Soto to Hit into DP to End It

Bednar came back out for the 9th — and got into some trouble — allowing a leadoff HR to Ewing to make it 6-4, then getting a strikeout but allowing a single to Lindor to put the tying run at the plate in the form of Juan Soto.

But Bednar got Soto to hit a 1-2 splitter into a doubleplay — 1st to shortstop to 1st — a great play by Paul Goldschmidt to start it — for the old ballgame.

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore/_/gameId/401816894

 

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