NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge hit his 33rd home run, left fielder Cody Bellinger started a pivotal double play and the New York Yankees stopped a six-game losing streak by beating the Mets 6-4 Sunday to avoid a weekend Subway Series sweep.
All-Star Max Fried (11-2) improved to 9-1 in 12 starts after Yankees losses after Judge staked him to a 5-0 lead with a two-run homer in the fifth off Brandon Waddell, part of Judge's three-RBI day.
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New York Mets' Juan Soto reacts after being called out on strikes during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Sunday, July 6, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
New York Yankees' Aaron Judge hits a sacrifice fly during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Sunday, July 6, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
New York Yankees pitcher Devin Williams, left, celebrates with Aaron Judge, right, after they defeated the New York Mets in a baseball game Sunday, July 6, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
New York Yankees pitcher Devin Williams, front, hugs catcher Austin Wells, back, after they defeated the New York Mets in a baseball game Sunday, July 6, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
After Judge's sacrifice fly restored a two-run lead in the seventh, Juan Soto hit a sinking drive that Bellinger scooped with a shoestring catch that had 30% possibility. Bellinger made a 89.9 mph throw to first baseman Paul Goldschmidt that doubled up Francisco Lindor, who didn't slide.
That was the second of three double plays in consecutive innings by a Yankees defense that has been shaky of late. Hayden Senger grounded into a double play with the bases loaded in the sixth, and Judge followed with a tumbling catch on Starling Marte's liner. Goldschmidt turned an unassisted double play in the eighth, gloving Brett Baty's hard grounder, tagging Ronny Mauricio and stepping on first base.
The Yankees, who tumbled from the AL East lead by losing 16 of 22 games, had matched their longest losing streak. They stopped the Mets' four-game winning streak.
Austin Wells homered in the third off Zach Pop (0-1), who made his Mets debut.
Francisco Lindor hit a two-run single in the fifth off Fried (11-2).
Devin Williams pitched a perfect ninth for his 12th save in 13 chances. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza was ejected by plate umpire John Bacon after a pair of called strikes on Luis Torrens starting the inning, the first that appeared to be outside and the second that seemed low. The game ended when Lindor couldn't check his swing on a strikeout with Soto on deck.
Mendoza was ejected for the second time this season, both in a nine-day span.
After Lindor’s hit, Fried struck out Soto and retired Pete Alonso on a deep flyout.
Judge has 11 first-pitch homers, equaling a career high.
Yankees: Rookie Will Warren (5-4, 5.02 ERA) opposes visiting Seattle and RHP Logan Gilbert (2-2, 3.40) on Tuesday nught.
Mets: Clay Holmes (8-4, 2.99) faces rookie Brandon Young (0-3, 7.02 ERA) at Baltimore on Tuesday.
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New York Mets' Juan Soto reacts after being called out on strikes during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Sunday, July 6, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
New York Yankees' Aaron Judge hits a sacrifice fly during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Sunday, July 6, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
New York Yankees pitcher Devin Williams, left, celebrates with Aaron Judge, right, after they defeated the New York Mets in a baseball game Sunday, July 6, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
New York Yankees pitcher Devin Williams, front, hugs catcher Austin Wells, back, after they defeated the New York Mets in a baseball game Sunday, July 6, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
ADEN, Yemen (AP) — Southern separatists in Yemen said Saudi warplanes carried out new airstrikes Saturday on a military camp in the port city of Mukalla and other areas where their forces are stationed, as Saudi-backed forces moved to retake the city.
There was no immediate Saudi comment. It was the latest direct intervention by Saudi Arabia, which in recent weeks has bombed the separatist Southern Transitional Council, or STC, and struck what is said was a shipment of Emirati weapons destined for it.
The Saudi strikes hit Barshid Brigade camp west of Mukalla in Hadramout, one of two governorates seized last month by the STC, according to the group’s AIC satellite news channel.
Yemen has been engulfed in civil war for more than a decade, with Iran-backed Houthi rebels controlling much of the north and a Saudi-led coalition supporting the internationally recognized government in the south. But coalition member the United Arab Emirates also supports the separatists, who call for South Yemen to secede again from Yemen.
The latest Saudi strikes came a day after the separatist movement announced a constitution for an independent nation in the south.
Last month, the STC moved into Hadramout and Mahra and seized an oil-rich region. That pushed out allies of the Saudi-supported National Shield forces, a group in the anti-Houthi coalition.
After Saudi pressure and an ultimatum from anti-Houthi forces to withdraw from Yemen, the UAE said early Saturday it had pulled out all its forces.
The tensions in Yemen have further strained ties between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, neighbors on the Arabian Peninsula that have competed over economic issues and regional politics, particularly in the Red Sea area. Ostensibly, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have shared the coalition's professed goal of restoring Yemen's internationally recognized government.
An official with the STC told The Associated Press on Saturday that more than 100 Saudi airstrikes struck multiple locations across Hadramout over the past 24 hours, resulting in deaths and injuries. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to brief the media.
Mukalla residents Ahmed al-Faradi and Salem Maadan told the AP the city was now controlled by the Hadramout Tribes Confederacy and the National Shield forces.
Col. Ahmed Baqatyan, a military commander in the Hadramout Tribes Confederacy, said that striking the Barshid Brigade camp was necessary because it sits on the route to the southern port city of Aden. He said clearing the camp of STC forces was aimed at preventing them from regrouping and launching a return to Mukalla.
Meanwhile, Yemen’s Transportation Ministry, aligned with the STC, condemned Saudi airstrikes late Friday it said targeted the international airport in Seiyun, “exposing the airport to serious risks that could damage its infrastructure, hindering its operation and the resumption of flights.”
Earlier on Saturday, Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry said it plans to hold a conference in its capital, Riyadh, to bring together all southern factions in Yemen "to discuss just solutions to the southern cause."
Saudi Arabia was responding to a request for dialogue from Rashad al-Alimi, head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, the ruling organ of the internationally recognized government.
There were no immediate details about the proposed conference.
The anti-Houthi coalition was showing other signs of strain. Clashes erupted on Friday between National Shield forces and the southern forces in Hadramout and their allies, killing at least eight people, paramedic Ahmed al-Ketheri told the AP.
Hilal Khashan, political science professor at the American University of Beirut, said that when Saudi Arabia and the UAE began a military operation against the Houthis a decade ago, the Saudis were interested in controlling the mountains of Saada, while the UAE wanted to capture Aden because of its importance as a gateway to the Red Sea.
Khashan said the situation got out of control in recent weeks when the UAE-backed STC started capturing areas in Hadramout that border the kingdom.
“For the Saudis that was a red line,” Khashan said, adding that the Saudis felt that they were being “held captive between the Houthis in the north and the UAE in the south.” They ”decided to stop the UAE from its regional expansionism," he said.
Khaled reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report.
Supporters of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), a coalition of separatist groups seeking to restore the state of South Yemen, hold South Yemen flags during a rally, in Aden, Yemen, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. (AP Photo)
