Bellinger’s throw – Cody Bellinger’s heads-up throw to Ryan McMahon at third base saved a tied game in the Yankees’ 2-0 win over Tampa Bay on Sunday. Aaron Judge later hit a 17th homer in the ninth to end it, and both Bellinger and Aaron Boone pointed to the defensive moment as a
For a Yankees team already feeling the weight of losing streaks and tough matchups, Sunday’s 2-0 win over Tampa Bay turned on a moment that lasted only a beat.
In the middle innings, with the game locked at 0-0, the Rays loaded the bases with two outs. Pinch runner Oliver Dunn was on second and Junior Caminero was on first when Ryan Vilade lined a 3-2 pitch to left. Tampa Bay was right on the edge of taking the lead.
Instead, Cody Bellinger made the decision that mattered: he didn’t fire home. He threw to Ryan McMahon at third base.
The timing was tight, but it worked. The tag landed before Dunn could reach the plate, and the score stayed tied.
“That was a game-changing throw,’’ Aaron Judge said after he later won the game in the ninth with a home run. “It was heads up.”
Bellinger’s route to that moment started before the pitch. Aaron Boone credited outfield coach Luis Rojas for bringing Bellinger in slightly before the play “with something like that in mind.”
When the ball came off the bat, Bellinger had to get there quickly and throw with precision off the wet grass. McMahon picked it up and finished the play.
Bellinger described it simply after the fact. “All [McMahon]. I picked my head up and Mac had a huge target at third. I threw a pretty nasty sinker. He did a great job to pick it and tag him. Once he tagged him, I didn’t think the run had scored.”
A review confirmed the out at third, and that the tag beat Dunn to the plate.
Bellinger also said he didn’t consider throwing home, knowing the runners would be going on the pitch with a full count.
“You really don’t have a chance at home,” he said. “I tried to throw the ball to [McMahon] as best I could. It wasn’t easy out there.”
McMahon called it “all reactionary.”
“I started to run in to cut off the throw home, and as I was going there, I remembered they were on the run, so I had to go back to third,” McMahon said. “I felt [Bellinger] was pretty close and I was able to get the ball. Knowing we should be down 1-0 and was still tied instead was big.”
The Yankees didn’t score in the bottom of the inning, but Tim Hill tossed a scoreless ninth before Judge ended it. Judge hit his 17th homer to make it 2-0.
“This was really heads-up, great play by a great defender,’’ Boone said.
And as for what this kind of defensive moment might mean across a season—there’s already evidence it can swing momentum. Since joining the Yankees prior to last season, Bellinger has drawn praise from his coaches and teammates for his defense. There were earlier highlight-reel moments. including the catch and throw to double off Francisco Lindor at first base during the Subway Series last July that helped end a five-game losing streak—and begin a five-game winning streak.
On Sunday, Bellinger didn’t just make a good play. He changed what the Yankees could survive in a game they could hardly afford to lose.
Cody Bellinger New York Yankees Tampa Bay Rays Aaron Judge Ryan McMahon Oliver Dunn Junior Caminero Fernando Cruz Tim Hill 2-0 win