Video summary
Cody Bellinger reflects on a significant victory for his team, highlighting the collective effort that led to the win while specifically praising the pitching staff's performance in shutting out the opponent. He acknowledges that while scoring more runs would always be ideal, the defensive work by Cam Henderson, Drew Hedrick, and others was crucial in securing the result. The highlight of the game came in the top of the seventh inning when Bellinger executed a critical play with Wells to stop Ceddanne Rafaela at home plate, a moment that Bellinger describes as feeling good amidst the incredible atmosphere of a big-time game where every defensive action can impact the outcome.
Bellinger opens up about his previous struggles with throwing mechanics and how he adjusted his approach after making a terrible throw in an earlier game. He explains that the key adjustment involved releasing the ball slightly earlier rather than too late, which previously resulted in bounces before reaching home plate. After discussing these issues with Wells and focusing on maintaining arm strength through consistent practice, Bellinger was able to execute the perfect throw during this match. He notes that playing primarily in left field has also helped him refine his consistency and release point by allowing him to focus on one specific position and gain more repetitions.
The conversation also touches on the transition for teammate Schmidt, who is moving from a daily starter role to a part-time player, with Bellinger expressing admiration for Schmidt's strong mentality and long-standing presence in the locker room despite the difficulty of not playing every day. Additionally, Bellinger discusses his experience backing up pitcher Schlereth, noting how fun it has been to play behind a pitcher who is determined to dominate and improve himself. He emphasizes that Schlereth's drive to be better and his chip on his shoulder have made for an enjoyable dynamic in the dugout, especially as the team approaches the end of the regular season with division games becoming increasingly important.
Read the full video transcript
Cody Arrington calling this a great win
for the team. How do you look at this
game?
>> Yeah, it's a great win. Um Goldy put us
on the board obviously, you know,
obviously you'd always like to score
more but pitching did a tremendous job.
Cam, uh Hedrick, Blackburn, and then
Bednar coming in and
and uh shutting the game out. So, any
win is a great win and that was a good
one for sure.
>> Top of the seventh, that fly ball that
you execute with Wells. What's going
through your mind as an outfielder in
that situation?
>> Yeah, you know,
um
was able to get some good momentum going
home.
And uh you know, Rafaela was at third so
um it was one of those where
feel like I had to make one of the I
mean, made a good throw.
Um Wellsy with the with the great tag
with the one hop. He made a great play
as well. So,
um I was just glad I was able to make
that throw.
>> What are those plays like to be a part
of in a situation like this? Big-time
game and the crowd erupting in that
spot.
>> Yeah, it feels good, you know, these
games are fun. Um atmosphere's
incredible and uh you know,
always like to impact the game some way.
So, um I was glad I was able to make
that throw.
>> Boom saying the other day you were not
happy about a throw. Is that something
that stuck in your head and
does that carry over to your mind at
all?
>> Yeah,
um you know, made a throw a few games
ago where um
you know, pretty terrible but um
you know,
make the adjustment from there
um
and uh talked to Wellsy about it, figure
out what we need to do to be better
there and
uh we we were able to execute.
>> What was the adjustment?
>> Um just a little bit release point, you
know, the last one was the first one I
had I released it super late. It
literally, you know, I think I threw
like a five or six hopper into the home.
So,
um just released it a little better
today.
>> Howie did you compliment him when you
got to the dugout, right?
>> Yeah, yeah, for sure. I mean,
um you know, it was just a good game and
glad I was able to help.
>> How do you compare that against your
playing against the Mets last year?
>> You know,
um
both both good.
Um so, hopefully
in the future able to help contribute
more.
>> Cody, you've been a good defender in the
past, but numbers and the metrics say
you've taken your game to another level.
Do you attribute that to anything?
>> Yeah, um last year, you know, they
really helped me with my first step. Um
that was a big part of it. Um
able to, you know, get better jumps and
um you know, the arm, the throws, always
always working on it. Always, you know,
um
trying to keep your arm strength. So,
they did help me with my first step
though, for sure.
>> Has it also helped you playing mostly
left field? I know you
can play all over the place, but being
in one position and being able to
concentrate there, has that helped you
really get better?
>> Um yeah, I think, you know, one
position,
um you know, is you get the reps,
uh consistency, consistent
um little
arm release like I was just talking
about. So,
um you know, wherever they play me is
where I'll be.
>> Is there a different feel to the games
this weekend, particularly as you have a
month to go?
>> Yeah, you know, I feel like any
uh division game,
uh especially closing in on September,
you know, it's always fun. Um they're
always important and come out today,
pitchers just did a great job keeping us
in that game and
um it's nice to get the first one.
>> What's What's Schmidt transition from
being a guy that plays every day to, you
know, now he plays part-time a lot of
time?
How difficult do you think that is for a
guy like you who's in there every day
and all of a sudden is might not get in
a bat for a week?
>> Yeah, it's hard to play every day. It's
also hard to uh not play every day and
kind of do do that, but um you know, I
his mentality is so good. He's been
doing it for so long. He knows what he
needs to do and he's just been such a
presence in this locker room.
Um
I mean, just to come in after doing
that's that's it's hard to do and um you
know, won us the game today.
>> Can Schlereth up to 200 strikeouts in
his first full big league season. What's
it been like playing behind him?
>> It's been really fun. I mean, you know,
a pitcher with with a chip on his
shoulder and
um you know, he goes out and wants to
dominate. He wants to be better and uh
he expects a lot out of himself and um
he's just done a tremendous job this
year.