Cody Bellinger collected the first hit of his career in the final at-bat of his MLB debut. It was a cue-shot infield single in the ninth inning against the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday. Not exactly the home run Bellinger envisioned, but a hit nonetheless.
On Saturday, playing in front of a sellout crowd at Dodger Stadium, which included his mother in attendance, the 21-year-old got his home run. And then some. Bellinger slugged a solo home run in the seventh inning to pull the Dodgers within two runs of the Philadelphia Phillies.
The homer was Bellinger’s first of his career, and first RBI. Then in the ninth, on the pitch after Yasiel Puig took Hector Neris deep, Bellinger clubbed his second home run of the game.
It was again to right field, though down the line and it stayed just fair, clanking off the foul pole. “I saw it going foul, and I said, ‘Just please hit [the pole] before it goes foul,'” Bellinger said. “Luckily, it did.”
Bellinger received the silent treatment upon returning to the dugout after his first home run of the game. There was no such reaction following his second. Justin Turner hit the third of back-to-back-to-back home runs.
Dodger Stadium, and the Dodgers dugout, erupted. Bellinger was in the thick of the celebration. “I don’t know what I just saw. I’ve never been part of anything like this, it’s a crazy moment,” he said.
“I’m kind of speechless right now. I don’t even remember what I did. It’s spectacular. I’ve said it before, this team is special offensively and defensively. It’s only a matter of time until everything clicks.”
Bellinger received the customary Gatorade shower from Puig and Turner. He had a sense it was coming, but the numbing feeling was still prevalent during the postgame interview. “My toes are still cold, so I have to get in the shower,” Bellinger said.
While the first home run carries its own significance, Bellinger believes his second homer will resonate more because of the role it played in the Dodgers mounting a comeback.
The Dodgers are the first team to hit three consecutive home runs in the ninth inning since doing so against the San Diego Padres in 2006. It was a fact Andre Ethier was sure to point out to the organization’s top prospect.
“Andre was telling me he’s seen this before, so don’t act cool,” Bellinger said with a smile.
