NEW YORK -- Cody Bellinger is going to tell you that he wasn’t seeking revenge against the Cubs on Friday night at Yankee Stadium.
Yes, they traded him to the Yankees on Dec. 17 for right-hander Cody Poteet. But it was all good Friday when Bellinger was seen hugging his former mates as the Cubs took early batting practice around 2:30 p.m. It was the first time Bellinger had seen them since the trade.
“It was good to see them. We were hanging out and they were hitting early,” Bellinger said. “I have a lot of good relationships over there. It’s really a fun group of guys. I had an unbelievable time in Chicago. I love all of those guys over there. It was good to see a majority of them today and share a few laughs. It was cool.”
The Cubs were not laughing after the game because it felt like payback for the man affectionately known as “Belli,” who nearly hit four homers but ended up with three and drove in six runs in an 11-0 victory over Chicago. Bellinger, who extended his hitting streak to 16 games, is the first player in MLB history to hit three home runs in his first game against a former team.
And he was robbed of a fourth homer in the seventh inning, when right fielder Kyle Tucker made a sick catch at the wall.
“No, no revenge,” he said. “Ultimately, it was fun to be out there. I saw a bunch of guys I haven’t seen in a while. I shared a bunch of good memories the past two years.”
With the Yankees already leading 1-0 and Jasson Domínguez on first base, Bellinger hit his first home run of the game in the third inning when he swung at a 1-1 pitch from righty Chris Flexen and hit the ball over the right-center-field wall to make it a three-run game.
Two innings later, with left-hander Caleb Thielbar on the mound, Bellinger increased the lead to five runs with another two-run homer over the right-field wall. It was the 18th multi-homer game of Bellinger’s career - and his first with the Yankees.
The third dinger came in the bottom of the eighth, when he hit another two-run bomb off left-hander Jordan Wicks into the right-center-field stands to make it a 10-run game. It was Bellinger’s first career three-homer game. He wasn’t sure if he hit that third homer because Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong is known to make spectacular catches near the wall.
“He is a freak athlete out there,” Bellinger said of Crow-Armstrong.
Bellinger became the 29th player in Yankees history to hit at least three homers in a regular-season game (40th time) and the third this season -- Aaron Judge on March 29 vs. Milwaukee and Domínguez on May 9 at the Athletics.
After the third homer, Yankee Stadium was electric and the sellout crowd of 46,327 was asking for a curtain call. He was reluctant to get out of the dugout, but at the urging of Judge and manager Aaron Boone, Bellinger came out and waved to the crowd.
“Once they kind of nudged me, it was a cool moment,” Bellinger said.
In his first season with New York, Bellinger has a slash line of .285/.340/.498 with 16 homers and 54 RBIs. Boone is impressed by what he has seen.
“He has been through a lot during his career -- MVP, massive power, shoulder injury, really down years,” Boone said. “He has remade himself and adjusted. There is a lot to be said for that ability to persevere through a career to become maybe a little bit different profile player.
“His defensive versatility, I knew about. But to see it is impressive. To be able to play four positions the way he does at a high level. The quality of at-bats, the speed -- he does a lot of good things on a baseball field that helps you win. He is a winning player.”
Bellinger gave All-Star left-hander Carlos Rodón enough cushion to win his 10th game of the season. Rodón pitched eight shutout innings and struck out eight batters, aided by some excellent defense in right field from Judge.
The way Judge was talking after the game, Bellinger should be included on the American League All-Star team.
“I’m excited to head to Atlanta. They have a lot of great guys. I hope they sneak Bellinger in there for the season he has had so far,” Judge said.