Bellinger powers Yankees past Mets 8-2 with grand slam and 6 RBIs

NEW YORK (AP) — Cody Bellinger hit a grand slam that capped a six-run eighth inning and gave him six RBIs on Sunday night, sending the New York Yankees to an 8-2 victory over the New York Mets.

A throwing error by Mets first baseman Pete Alonso allowed Jasson Domínguez to score the tiebreaking run in the eighth. Paul Goldschmidt added an RBI single off Ryne Stanek (1-4) and Bellinger connected against left-hander Génesis Cabrera for his ninth career slam.

In a matchup of first-place teams, Max Fried pitched six effective innings as the Yankees took two of three at home in the first Subway Series this season. The crosstown rivals meet again July 4-6 at Citi Field in Queens.

Juan Soto was booed all weekend and went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts Sunday to the vocal delight of Yankees fans. He finished 1 for 10 with four walks during his first series back in the Bronx since leaving the Yankees for a record $765 million, 15-year contract with the Mets.

An error by third baseman Mark Vientos helped the Yankees establish a 2-0 lead in the first inning on Bellinger's two-run double that deflected off the mitt of a diving Alonso.

Jeff McNeil pulled the Mets even. He laced a two-out RBI single in the second, then drew a leadoff walk in the fifth and scored without a ball leaving the infield. McNeil alertly dashed home from third when Fried's wild pitch to Soto kicked far enough away from catcher Austin Wells.

Fried and Mets starter David Peterson both permitted three hits in six innings. They exited with the score tied 2-all.

The season-high sellout crowd of 48,028 at Yankee Stadium included former major league slugger Albert Pujols, new Giants quarterback Russell Wilson and Knicks big man Karl-Anthony Towns.

Devin Williams (2-2) retired Soto, Alonso and Vientos in order in the eighth.

The Mets fouled off 27 of Fried's 102 pitches, preventing him from going further than six innings. ... Mets pitchers walked a season-high eight.

Mets: A three-game series at Fenway Park, with RHP Kodai Senga (4-2, 1.02 ERA) starting the opener Monday night against Boston rookie RHP Hunter Dobbins (2-1, 3.90).

Yankees: Following an off day, rookie RHP Will Warren (2-2, 4.61 ERA) pitches Tuesday night at home versus Texas LHP Patrick Corbin (3-2, 3.35).

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

New York Mets' David Peterson pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees Sunday, May 18, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

New York Yankees' Max Fried pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets Sunday, May 18, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

New York Yankees' Cody Bellinger gestures as he runs the bases after hitting a grand slam during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets Sunday, May 18, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

New York Yankees' Cody Bellinger follows through on a two-run double during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets Sunday, May 18, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

New York Yankees' Cody Bellinger hits a grand slam home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets Sunday, May 18, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Ahn Sung-ki, one of South Korean cinema’s biggest stars whose prolific 60-year career and positive, gentle public image earned him the nickname “The Nation’s Actor,” died Monday. He was 74.

Ahn, who had suffered blood cancer for years, was pronounced dead at Seoul's Soonchunhyang University Hospital, his agency, the Artist Company, and hospital officials said.

“We feel deep sorrow at the sudden, sad news, pray for the eternal rest of the deceased and offer our heartfelt condolences to his bereaved family members," the Artist Company said in a statement.

President Lee Jae Myung issued a condolence message saying Ahn provided many people with comfort, joy and time for reflection. “I already miss his warm smile and gentle voice,” Lee wrote on Facebook.

Born to a filmmaker in the southeastern city of Daegu in 1952, Ahn made his debut as a child actor in the movie “The Twilight Train” in 1957. He subsequently appeared in about 70 movies as a child actor before he left the film industry to live an ordinary life.

In 1970, Ahn entered Seoul’s Hankuk University of Foreign Studies as a Vietnamese major. Ahn said he graduated with top honors but failed to land jobs at big companies, who likely saw his Vietnamese major largely useless after a communist victory in the Vietnam War in 1975.

Ahn returned to the film industry in 1977 believing he could still excel in acting. In 1980, he rose to fame for his lead role in Lee Jang-ho’s “Good, Windy Days,” a hit coming-of-age movie about the struggle of working-class men from rural areas during the country’s rapid rise. Ahn won the best new actor award in the prestigious Grand Bell Awards, the Korean version of the Academy Awards.

He later starred in a series of highly successful and critically acclaimed movies, sweeping best actor awards and becoming arguably the country’s most popular actor in much of the 1980-90s.

Some of his memorable roles included a Buddhist monk in 1981’s “Mandara,” a beggar in 1984’s “Whale Hunting,” a Vietnam War veteran-turned-novelist in 1992’s “White Badge,” a corrupt police officer in 1993’s “Two Cops,” a murderer in 1999’s “No Where To Hide,” a special forces trainer in 2003’s “Silmido” and a devoted celebrity manager in 2006’s “Radio Star.”

Ahn had collected dozens of trophies in major movie awards in South Korea, including winning the Grand Bell Awards for best actor five times, an achievement no other South Korean actors have matched yet.

Ahn built up an image as a humble, trustworthy and family-oriented celebrity who avoided major scandals and maintained a quiet, stable personal life. Past public surveys chose Ahn as South Korea’s most beloved actor and deserving of the nickname “The Nation’s Actor.”

Ahn said he earlier felt confined with his “The Nation's Actor” labeling but eventually thought that led him down the right path. In recent years, local media has given other stars similar honorable nicknames, but Ahn was apparently the first South Korean actor who was dubbed “The Nation's Actor.”

“I felt I should do something that could match that title. But I think that has eventually guided me on a good direction,” Ahn said in an interview with Yonhap news agency in 2023.

In media interviews, Ahn couldn’t choose what his favorite movie was, but said that his role as a dedicated, hardworking manger for a washed-up rock singer played by Park Jung-hoon resembled himself in real life the most.

Ahn was also known for his reluctance to do love scenes. He said said he was too shy to act romantic scenes and sometimes asked directors to skip steamy scenes if they were only meant to add spice to movies.

“I don’t do well on acting like looking at someone who I don’t love with loving eyes and kissing really romantically. I feel shy and can’t express such emotions well,” Ahn said in an interview with the Shindonga magazine in 2007. “Simply, I’m clumsy on that. So I couldn’t star in such movies a lot. But ultimately, that was a right choice for me.”

Ahn is survived by his wife and their two sons. A mourning station at a Seoul hospital was to run until Friday.

FILE - South Korean actor Ahn Sung-ki smiles for a photo on the red carpet at the 56th Daejong Film Awards ceremony in Seoul, South Korea, June 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

FILE - South Korean actor Ahn Sung-ki attends an event as part of the 11th Pusan International Film Festival in Busan, South Korea, Oct. 13, 2006. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)