Cody Bellinger Sparks Yankees to Victory Again

On Tuesday night, Cody Bellinger was the spark the Yankees needed to come alive, and he did it again a day later.

With Aaron Judge sidelined, the Yankees had already lost their most valuable player, so his absence was felt even more.

Bellinger hit a critical RBI triple in the 10th inning, which leveled the score, and Ryan McMahon’s fly ball single ultimately clinched a dramatic 5-4 win over the Rays.

These past two wins, though, came after some tough moments.

On Tuesday, they managed to come back from a three-run deficit, and on Wednesday, they struggled, recording just two hits in the first seven innings.

Yet, Bellinger stepped up when it counted, along with Anthony Volpe, whose homer forced extra innings. Will Warren also delivered a solid performance on the mound.

Tim Hill closed out the 11th inning without allowing any runs, securing the win.

Devin Williams, however, had a tough night, blowing a one-run lead in the ninth and allowing a two-run homer from Josh Lowe. This marked his first blown save since late April.

After Volpe’s homer, the Yankees, now trailing, had limited opportunities to regain control.

Austin Wells managed a single, and Trent Grisham came close to executing a successful bunt. But unfortunately for Wells, he overlooked that Grisham was, quite unexpectedly, tagged out at second base.

In the 10th inning, Luke Weaver let the automatic runner score on Jonathan Aranda’s sacrifice fly. Bellinger followed with his own run-scoring triple, but both Giancarlo Stanton and Jazz Chisholm Jr. were unable to capitalize.

Through the first seven innings, the Yankees had managed a mere two hits. But in the eighth, things changed dramatically with a surge of activity that doubled their hit count.

Grisham began the rally, and Stanton brought in Ben Rice, making good use of relief pitcher Brian Baker’s struggle.

Though Warren ultimately received a hard-luck no decision after pitching six innings, allowing only one run, the team needed more than that to secure a win.

Warren’s performance was commendable, especially considering he had struggled with a 6.29 ERA since early July.

He allowed just six hits and only walked one batter, marking a positive turnaround.

Taking notice of his defense’s support, he watched as Junior Kaminero was picked off at second and Aranda was caught stealing in the fourth inning.

The pressure was on Warren as he walked Lowe—who then added to the threat with a single—but he managed to escape trouble again with a groundout.

Unfortunately, the Yankees had trouble figuring out Rays’ starter, Zak Littel.

In total, they could only muster two hits over five innings, one a double by McMahon, the other a single from Chisholm. The best chance came in the second, with consecutive walks loading the bases, but Bellinger was unable to convert.

Ultimately, things shifted in the eighth when the bat finally came alive.

Grisham led the charge, followed by others, culminating in Rice and Bellinger’s efforts that set up a scoring opportunity as Stanton joined in the action.