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Cody Bellinger’s 3-HR game earns All-Star calls from Yankees teammates
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- Cody Bellinger’s 3-HR game earns All-Star calls from Yankees teammates
The post Cody Bellinger's 3-HR game earns All-Star calls from Yankees teammates appeared first on ClutchPoints .
New York Yankees star Cody Bellinger delivered a historic performance on Friday night at Yankee Stadium, launching three two-run home runs in an 11-0 rout over his former team, the Chicago Cubs . In doing so, Bellinger became the first player in MLB history to hit three homers in his first game against a former team. He drove in six runs, matching a career high, and extended his hitting streak to 16 games.
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Traded from the Cubs to the Yankees last December 17 in exchange for right-hander Cody Poteet , Bellinger made an emphatic statement against his old club. He hit home runs in the third, fifth, and eighth innings, off pitchers Chris Flexen , Caleb Thielbar , and Jordan Wicks , respectively. He nearly added a fourth homer in the seventh inning, but Kyle Tucker made a leaping catch at the wall.
Bellinger's offensive eruption drew immediate All-Star praise from teammates.
"Excited to head to Atlanta . We've got a lot of great guys going to the game. Hopefully, we can sneak Bellinger in there with the season he's had so far," said Aaron Judge .
Carlos Rodon , who picked up his 10th win after pitching eight shutout innings with eight strikeouts, also said , "He's making his push to be an All-Star, I think. In my book, he is."
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Judge also shined defensively, making three outstanding plays in right field. He robbed Pete Crow-Armstrong of a fourth-inning homer with a leaping grab at the wall, made a diving catch on Dansby Swanson 's liner to end the inning, and cut off a potential extra-base hit from Kyle Tucker in the eighth with runners on.
This was Bellinger's first career three-homer game and the 18th multi-homer game of his career. He became the 29th player in Yankees history to hit at least three homers in a regular-season game and the third Yankee to do so this season, joining Judge (March 29 vs. Milwaukee ) and Jasson Domínguez (May 9 vs. Oakland).
The crowd of 46,327 erupted after Bellinger's third homer, calling for a curtain call. Though initially hesitant, he emerged from the dugout after encouragement from Judge and manager Aaron Boone.
Now slashing .285/.340/.498 with 16 home runs and 54 RBIs in his first season with the Yankees, Bellinger's all-around performance earned high praise from Boone, who called him a winning player with elite defensive versatility and consistent offensive contributions.
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The Yankees have now extended their winning streak to five games, following a prior six-game losing streak. They've scored five or more runs in 10 straight games, a feat they last accomplished in July of 2012.
Related: Yankees' Aaron Judge hits another milestone amid historic first half
Related: MLB rumors: DJ LeMahieu looking to sign with team after Yankees release
