Bellinger’s shoestring catch starts double play, helps Yankees end 6-game losing streak

NEW YORK (AP) — Cody Bellinger watched Juan Soto hit a sinking line drive, charged in a few steps from left field and stuck out his arm as the ball dropped into the webbing of his glove.

Then in one motion, Bellinger made a 89.9 mph throw on the fly throw to first baseman Paul Goldschmidt that doubled up Francisco Lindor, who didn’t slide.

“That was incredible,” Aaron Judge said Sunday after the Yankees stopped a six-game losing streak with a 6-4 win over the Mets. “I’ve never seen something like that on the field. To come in, especially a guy like Soto, I’ve seen him hit so many line drives over outfielders heads when they come in too hard.”

Soto’s 105 mph liner against Mark Leiter Jr. had an expected batting average of .730. Bellinger was making his 31st start this season in left field and 68th career start there after playing first base for the first time this season on Saturday.

“It was a hard-hit ball,” Bellinger said. “It’s just trying to get the best read possible and I saw it in the air and had a really good bead on it. So, I was just glad I was able to make the play. So when I looked up, I saw Goldie with his glove high, so I tried to make a good throw.”

Bellinger won a Gold Glove in 2019 as a right fielder with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“To make that play was a game changing play, potentially a game-winning play for us,” Goldschmidt said.

The Mets challenged the catch, hoping the ball was trapped.

“I felt I caught it,” Bellinger said. “I feel like you can tell if it hits the ground first. I feel like I caught it from the jump.”

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said he was willing to challenge because he knew he would get another review in the final two innings.

“Pretty incredible play there,” Mendoza said. “Probably the play of the game.”

Bellinger’s pivotal catch was the second of three double plays in consecutive innings by a Yankees’ defense that had been shaky of late.

“Just what a play,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Considering the context of this week and everything, that’s probably the play of the year so far and to have the wherewithal and the quality of the throw to double them off, just a great play.”

Hayden Senger grounded into a double play with the bases loaded in the sixth, and Judge followed with his catch. Goldschmidt turned an unassisted double play in the eighth, gloving Brett Baty’s hard grounder, tagging Ronny Mauricio and stepping on first base.

Judge hit his 33rd homer in the fifth and had a tumbling catch on Starling Marte flare to right that to end the sixth.

Bellinger started in left field after rookie Jasson Domínguez experienced some shaky moments in the first two games.

On Friday, Domínguez initially broke in on Brandon Nimmo’s liner and the ball went over him for a leadoff double before Soto hit a two-run homer. On Saturday, Marte hit an RBI single that went over Domínguez.

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Domínguez has made 59 starts in first full season in left field after playing 13 games in left during the final month of last season.

Top prospect Spencer Jones, the Yankees’ top pick in the 2022 amateur draft, made six starts in left field with Double-A Somerset and has made another start since his promotion to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre.

Jones hit a go-ahead, 445-foot, three-run homer in Sunday’s 9-6 win over Lehigh Valley and is hitting .375 with four homers and eight RBIs in eight games with the RailRiders.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb