NEW YORK – Everywhere the Yankees looked, the weight of Sept. 11 could be felt, from the first responder caps on their locker shelves to the memorial wreath that Aaron Boone, Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole carried into Monument Park during the early afternoon hours.
Then came a stirring ceremony in which several of their 2001 predecessors shared memories of a time when baseball helped to heal. In a Subway Series contest that belonged to the city, Cody Bellinger helped claim it for the Yankees, belting a three-run homer in a 6-4 victory over the Mets on Friday evening.
“It’s a special day,” Bellinger said. “Today was a day where it felt bigger than the game, bigger than yourself. It’s a day to be grateful, for sure.”
Bellinger lifted his 14th homer of the season facing Nolan McLean in the second inning, the first homer that the rookie right-hander has allowed on a curveball in the Majors.
Wearing pinstripes and an FDNY cap on this date carried additional meaning for Bellinger, whose father, Clay, played for those 2001 Yankees and became a firefighter in Gilbert, Ariz., after his final at-bat.
“He was here with the team; went to Ground Zero with the team when they went,” Bellinger said. “We were in New York at the time, so it’s a pretty surreal day now to be here. He talked about the World Series, how important it felt.”
Not coincidentally, Bellinger was selected to catch a ceremonial first pitch from Brielle Saracini. Her father, Victor, was the captain of United Flight 175, which was directed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
“[Baseball] was definitely what the country needed and what the country united around,” Saracini said. “It became this special thing that healed me. It healed 10-year-old Brielle.”
Swinging a custom Louisville Slugger with the FDNY logo, Ben Rice later added his team-leading 37th homer for the Yankees (85-62), who remained three games behind the Rays (88-59) in the American League East. They moved 5 1/2 games ahead of the Red Sox (80-68) for the first AL Wild Card.
“It was just a nice little touch to be able to swing that one,” Rice said. “It started with the ‘U.S.A.’ chants you heard right after the anthem; I mean, there’s nothing cooler than that. Everybody being so proud to be Americans, watching a baseball game between New York’s teams.”
Luis García Jr. stroked three hits in the win, the Yanks’ fourth straight.
“I’ve got to say, seeing the fans, seeing how much they were into the ceremony before the game, seeing the emotions from them was special,” García said through interpreter Marlon Abreu.
Calling it a “heavy” assignment to pitch on this particular date, Carlos Rodón allowed two runs (one earned) in 6 1/3 innings, marking the left-hander’s longest outing of the season.
“It was cool to be a part of,” said Rodón, who allowed three hits, walking one and striking out eight. “It’s sad, but it’s an honor to be able to pitch tonight.”
Boone said he felt Rodón “threw the heck out of the ball,” specifically mentioning the life on his four-seam fastball, as well as his changeup and slider.
Rodón allowed Christopher Morel’s run-scoring groundout in the second inning, and A.J. Ewing’s RBI single off Paul Blackburn in the seventh brought in an inherited runner.
“Not only was his stuff really good, but he was efficient, too,” Boone said.
The Mets chipped away against Blackburn in the seventh, but Brent Headrick snared Francisco Lindor’s two-out liner that appeared destined for center field to strand the bases loaded.
David Bednar picked up a five-out save, wriggling free of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the eighth by surrendering just a Marcus Semien sacrifice fly.
Ewing hit a ninth-inning homer off Bednar, who recovered by inducing Juan Soto to hit into a game-ending double play.
“It was great,” Boone said. “Obviously as a club, you’re playing for a lot, but having some of the people involved today back and part of the pregame ceremonies – it felt special. The energy in the crowd was special. It felt like you’d want a ballgame to feel like.”