Bellinger’s Pinch-Hit Homer Leads Yankees Past the Braves

The New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves gave a tantalizing glimpse of what might be coming in October.

Clay Bellinger hit a pinch-hit homer in the seventh inning to give the Yankees a 7-6 victory over the Braves on Sunday, the second straight wild game between the teams that have met in two of the last four World Series.

Atlanta, which was swept by the Yankees last fall, held on for an 11-7 victory Saturday that ended with Shane Spencer’s attempt for a tying grand slam being caught at the edge of the left-field wall. The Yankees won the opener of the three-game series, 5-2.

“I think we’re gaining on them,” said Atlanta third baseman Chipper Jones, who drove in two runs. “But they’re still the elite team in baseball right now.”

New York held on in the finale when Mariano Rivera struck out Andres Galarraga with runners on first and third to end the game.

“The postseason is a different story,” said Yankee starter Andy Pettitte, who got the win despite giving up six runs in six innings. “You like to win any series, but it’s a long time to the postseason.”

In the top of the ninth, John Rocker pitched a scoreless inning for Atlanta after a confrontation before the game with the Sports Illustrated reporter who wrote the article that led to Rocker’s two-week suspension for insensitive comments.

The Braves said they were investigating. Rocker declined comment.

“Obviously, he still has issues with the guy,” Jones said. “Maybe the right thing to do would have been to walk away. But I haven’t seen John back down from a conflict yet.”

For the second day in a row, New York pounded the Braves’ starting pitcher for 13 hits. This time, it came against Terry Mulholland, eclipsing his previous career high of 12 hits allowed while pitching for San Francisco in 1995.

“We needed that,” said Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter, still disgusted about the team’s four-error performance Saturday. “We wanted to play more like we’re capable of playing. We won two in this series and should have won three.”