Yankees' Cody Bellinger insists three-home-run game wasn't revenge on Cubs

NEW YORK — Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger wasn’t going to let former teammate Pete Crow-Armstrong’s attempt at a home-run robbery Friday go by without saying something.

‘‘I said, ‘My guy, what are you doing?’ ’’ Bellinger said when he was asked Saturday whether he had texted Crow-Armstrong after the game Friday. ‘‘ ‘You’ve already got enough five-star catches. You don’t need another one.’ ’’

Crow-Armstrong came inches away from robbing Bellinger of his third homer of the game in the Cubs’ 11-0 loss. A young fan caught the ball instead. Bellinger said after the game — and doubled down Saturday — that he thought Crow-Armstrong would have made the play otherwise.

Could that three-homer game — the first of Bellinger’s career — be considered a revenge game for a player the Cubs traded last fall after he opted into another year of his contract?

‘‘No, no revenge,’’ Bellinger said with a smile Friday. ‘‘Honestly, ultimately, it was just fun to be out there. Saw a bunch of guys I haven’t seen in a while, and I shared a bunch of good memories with them.’’

Some of those former teammates also reached out after the game, Bellinger said, with versions of, ‘‘What the hell are you doing?’’

Bellinger is having the kind of season that injuries and offense-suppressing conditions at Wrigley Field kept him from having last season. He’s hitting .285 with an .837 OPS. And he extended his hitting streak to 17 games Saturday.

When Bellinger decided in November to return for the second year of a three-year contract worth $80 million — a deal that features two opt-outs — he gave himself a chance to improve on last season.

‘‘I obviously didn’t perform as well as I’d like to [in 2024], so that was pretty frustrating,’’ Bellinger said. ‘‘But, honestly, I wanted to get to the postseason. We were so close in ’23, you know? We were running it back with almost the same group.’’

The major change to the Cubs’ lineup came in December. After they acquired right fielder Kyle Tucker in a trade with the Astros, Bellinger said he knew he was going to be dealt.

‘‘At that point, I was just hoping it was to a good place,’’ Bellinger said. ‘‘[President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer] called me. I have nothing but love and respect for Jed. He ultimately took a chance on me. I loved my time for the two years there. So I was glad I was traded [to the Yankees].’’

The Cubs and Yankees wrap up their only regular-season series against each other Sunday. And while they might not be the favorites to square off in the World Series, the matchup wouldn’t be far-fetched, considering the unpredictable nature of the playoffs.

‘‘I would love it,’’ Bellinger said. ‘‘I would love to go back to Wrigley. It’s a great place.’’

Happ is back

Left fielder Ian Happ returned to the lineup Saturday after manager Craig Counsell gave him the day off Friday in the midst of an offensive slump.

Against Yankees left-hander Max Fried, however, second baseman Nico Hoerner led off for the second consecutive game. Happ batted seventh.

The switch-hitting Happ entered play Saturday with a .658 OPS against lefties this season; Hoerner had a .905 OPS against them.

Roster move

The Cubs optioned left-hander Jordan Wicks to Triple-A Iowa and selected the contract of veteran right-hander Brooks Kriske from Iowa. Wicks allowed six runs and 10 hits in three innings in the Cubs’ loss Friday.