There were reasons for Cody Bellinger to feel disrespected.
The Red Sox wanted to pitch to a slugging outfielder who had been signed to a $162.5 million contract this winter.
With two outs in the sixth inning and Trent Grisham on second base, Boston intentionally walked Ben Rice to take its chances with Bellinger.
And after Bellinger reached out and got just enough juice behind a Garrett Whitlock changeup for a three-run home run, he slowly trotted around the bases in a fashion that hinted he noticed Boston’s Willson Contreras had done the same in the top of the inning.
Regardless of the motivation, Bellinger’s execution was flawless in turning a close game lopsided, his blast the last that mattered in what became a 9-2 smacking of the Red Sox to clinch the wild-card series Wednesday in The Bronx and earn a date with the Rays in the ALDS.
Chad Tracy and the Red Sox had reason to prefer facing Bellinger in what was then a game they trailed, 5-1, simply because Bellinger was not Rice. A night earlier, the Yankees first baseman/DH was unstoppable in going 4-for-5 with a pair of home runs and six RBIs.
And in his previous at-bat Wednesday, Rice had stroked a single through the right side.
And so it was Bellinger who was left to feel inspired, which resulted in a swing that would not have produced a home run in any other ballpark. He got under the Whitlock pitch, lifting it high enough that there was no doubt it would be a home run or an out at the wall.
Which meant there was a bit more reason for Bellinger to not sprint out of the box. He walked, then slow-jogged to first, saw it land in the stands 360 feet away just beyond the reach of Wilyer Abreu, and then saw no reason to speed up.
Just a few minutes earlier, Contreras had popped a home run for the Red Sox’ first run of the series and ran as if he wanted Boston to savor every moment of the drought-buster. The trot was officially clocked at 30.09 seconds.
In a series in which the Yankees beat the Red Sox in every way imaginable, this apparent battle of pettiness went to the Yankees too: Bellinger slogged around the bases absorbing the cheers just a bit longer at 31.29 seconds.
