It was a night to remember at the dish for New York Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger, who belted three home runs for the first time in his career in his club's 11-0 win over the Chicago Cubs on Friday night at Yankee Stadium. But Bellinger's three-homer night was very nearly a four-homer night.
After homering twice, Bellinger stepped to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning and drove a sinker from Cubs lefthander Jordan Wicks to the right field wall. The ball looked to be his third homer of the game, but Cubs outfielder Kyle Tucker leaped in the air and snatched the ball in his glove before it traveled over the wall.
But Bellinger indeed got his third homer of the game in his final at-bat in the eighth inning, a ball that a Yankees fan snagged in his glove just out of reach of Cubs centerfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong. After the game, Bellinger said he had met the young fan, whom he thanked for keeping the ball out of the park.
Cody Bellinger: "I just met the kid who caught it, I just gave him some love to take it out of PCA's glove right there." 😆 pic.twitter.com/TQifrEQZG5
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) July 12, 2025
"I didn't know," Bellinger said when asked if he wasn't sure if his last homer was leaving the yard. "I've seen PCA rob so many homers. He's a freak athlete out there. I just met the kid who caught it, I just gave him some love to take it out of PCA's glove right there. I think he would have had it."
Bellinger said he got the career milestone ball back from the young fan, who also gave the Yankees outfielder bragging rights in the dugout.
"It feels great," Bellinger said of his three-homer game. "Yeah I knew I didn't have one [a three-homer game]. The boys were giving me a hard time after he [Tucker] robbed it. Booney [Aaron Boone] was giving me a hard time. So, my next at-bat, not trying to do too much. I'm glad the fan caught it before PCA could grab it."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Cody Bellinger Thanked Yankees Fan Who Caught Third Homer Before PCA Could.
