Yankees 6, Mets 4: Bellinger's Three-Run Shot in the Bronx

A three-run homer, then Rodón made it hold

September 11, 2026 - Bronx - Cody Bellinger caught the ceremonial first pitch, then hit a three-run homer in the second. The Associated Press recap said the toss came from Brielle Saracini, whose father Victor Saracini was the pilot of United Airlines Flight 175. The New York Yankees remembered the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks and then beat the New York Mets 6-4.

Carlos Rodón (6-3) worked a season-high 6 1/3 innings, three hits, two runs, one earned, one walk, eight strikeouts, 93 pitches. Two of the strikeouts were Juan Soto, who heard boos before each at-bat, per the AP recap. David Bednar finished it after A.J. Ewing homered on the first pitch of the ninth.

The Yankees are 85-62. The AP recap said they won for the 17th time in 24 games and moved a season-high 23 games over .500. They remain three games behind Tampa Bay in the AL East and 5 1/2 ahead of Boston for the first wild card. The Mets are 68-79. Their four-game winning streak ended a day after they scored 31 runs in a three-game sweep at Miami.

Jones in the first, Morel's groundout, then Bellinger

Ben Rice reached in the first. Bellinger reached. Aaron Judge walked. Spencer Jones singled to left, Rice scoring. 1-0. Bases still loaded. The inning stopped there. One run on a single, and Yankee Stadium already had a lead.

Mark Vientos scored in the second on a Christopher Morel groundout. 1-1. Nolan McLean (11-9) had a tie and a chance to keep the Subway Series quiet. He did not.

Rice reached again. Anthony Volpe reached. Bellinger then hit a full-count curveball into the right-field seats, his 14th, per the AP recap. 4-1. Three runs. The ceremonial first pitch had already happened. The baseball one was the swing the box score will keep.

McLean lasted five innings, 10 hits, five runs, one walk, five strikeouts, 101 pitches. The AP recap called 10 hits a career worst. Rice made the fifth inning worse. He hit a first-pitch sinker the opposite way into the left-field seats, his 37th. 5-1. One pitch. One more run Rodón could take into the late innings.

Ewing twice, McMahon once, Bednar's double play

Rodón was still in front 5-1 when the seventh started. Carson Benge scored on Ewing's single. 2-5. Brent Headrick inherited a mess and walked two. Bo Bichette scored in the eighth on a Marcus Semien sacrifice fly. 3-5. The Mets had the tying run on the field and could not get him home.

José Caballero scored in the eighth on a Ryan McMahon single. 6-3. An insurance run against a Mets club that had already used Jack Weisenburger for three innings after McLean. Weisenburger allowed one run on three hits. McLean had already given New York the night.

Ewing homered to right on the first pitch of the ninth, his ninth. 4-6. Bednar (33rd save in 36 chances) then retired Soto on a double play, per the AP recap. Two outs on one ball. The save was not clean. It was finished.

Rice went 3-for-4 with a homer, three runs, and one RBI. Bellinger went 2-for-4 with a homer, a run, and three RBI. Luis García Jr. went 3-for-4 and did not drive in a run. Jones had two hits and the first RBI. Judge went 1-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts. Austin Wells went 0-for-4. George Lombard Jr. went 0-for-3. The Yankees had 13 hits. They needed the second-inning homer more than they needed the rest.

Four runs after 31, then Cole on Saturday

Ewing finished 2-for-4 with a homer, a run, and two RBI. Soto went 1-for-5 with two strikeouts. Francisco Lindor went 1-for-5. Semien drove in one on the fly ball. Morel's groundout was the tying run in the second and the last time the Mets were even. After 31 runs in Miami, four runs at Yankee Stadium felt like a different sport.

Zac Thornton (3-5, 3.53) faces Gerrit Cole on Saturday, per the AP recap. The Yankees are still chasing Tampa Bay. They are also 23 over .500 and a night removed from a Subway Series opener that started with a memorial pitch and ended with Bednar inducing a double play. Bellinger's curveball in the second is the swing in between.

AthX Engine after the baseball

AthX Engine (our projection and scoring system) put Rodón at 24.33 pitching fantasy points, second on the Friday board behind Dustin May's 25. Rice checked in at 10 hitting FP. Bellinger had 8. Ewing had 8. New York finished with 11 team FP. The Mets finished at 1.

Fantasy points measure the night under platform scoring rules. Share prices also move with traders through dynamic pricing. They are related. They are not the same number.

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*Sources: ESPN recap and box score, MLB.com Gameday wrap, MLB.com schedule, and AthX Engine scoring. Information only; not financial advice.*