Infielder-turned-reliever Fernando Cruz highlights a night of defensive gems for the Yankees
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — First there was sprinting left fielder Cody Bellinger, followed immediately by diving center fielder Trent Grisham and not too long after that leaping shortstop José Caballero. All three Yankees might have been outdone by sliding reliever Fernando Cruz , who likes to remind his New York teammates he was drafted as an infielder. Cruz's defensive gem in a game full of them for the Yankees might get the most attention, after the right-hander cut off Joc Pederson's attempted sacrifice bunt between the mound and third base with two on and nobody out in the eighth inning of New York's 3-2 victory over the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night.
Still sitting down after getting his glove on the ball, Cruz dug the ball out and bounced a throw to third while falling onto his back, and Ryan McMahon's stretch was enough to barely beat a sliding Josh Jung. MVP slugger Aaron Judge, who was focused on backing up first base from right field because he was worried about a potentially wild throw going in that direction, said he has heard Cruz's chatter about his past. “I think I might believe him now,” Judge said with a smile.
“We'll see. I need to see a couple more good plays like that. I'm more worried of having him just keep doing his thing on the mound.
I think we'll be good. ” Cruz escaped the inning with strikeouts of Jake Burger and pinch-hitter Ezequiel Duran, throwing seven consecutive strikes after his defensive masterpiece. “I think I describe myself as an adrenaline guy,” said the 36-year-old Cruz, who was an infielder when Kansas City drafted him out of Puerto Rico in 2007 but converted to pitching before finally reaching the big leagues with Cincinnati in 2022.
“It's just who I am. I locked it in after that, and everything just came out. ” Bellinger opened the bottom of the first by running down Brandon Nimmo's leadoff flyball in the left-field corner, and Grisham sprinted in for a diving grab on Jung's liner for the second out.