May 2, 2026

Yankees Drop 9 On Baltimore As Bellinger Steals The Show

Yankees

Yankees Drop 9 On Baltimore As Bellinger Steals The Show

by

Cody Bellinger did not just have a good day. He had one of those “yeah, this lineup is a problem” days.

When Cody Bellinger is swinging it like this, the Yankees lineup becomes a completely different animal.

The Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 9-4 at Yankee Stadium, moved to 22-11, and pushed themselves to a season-high 11 games over .500. That is now 12 wins in their last 14 games.

And the biggest reason Saturday turned into another Bronx party?

Bellinger.

4-for-4. Three runs. Four RBIs. Two home runs. A double. A stolen base. Basically, he showed up and decided Baltimore was going to have a long afternoon.

Bellinger Set The Tone Early

The Yankees were quiet in the first inning, but Bellinger changed that fast in the second.

Kyle Bradish tried him with a pitch he could handle, and Bellinger sent it out to right-center for a solo homer. Just like that, Yankees up 1-0.

ADVERTISEMENT
Advertisement

And no, it was not some cheap “barely counts” moment in the box score. It counted. It put the Yankees ahead. That is all that matters.

Then in the third inning, the Yankees started stacking pressure. Jose Caballero walked. Trent Grisham doubled. A passed ball brought Caballero home. Aaron Judge walked. Then Bellinger came up with two strikes and ripped an RBI double to deep center, scoring Grisham and making it 3-0.

That at-bat mattered because that is the kind of swing that tells you a hitter is not just hunting mistakes. He is competing. He is staying inside the moment.

After the game, Bellinger said he was “just feeling good,” and that he was not trying to do too much at the plate. He also said on the two-strike RBI double that he saw the pitch well, stayed within himself, and was glad it “found the barrel” and “found some grass.”

Grisham Keeps Adding Damage

The Orioles got one back in the fourth when Pete Alonso homered to left, but the Yankees answered right away.

Ryan McMahon doubled to left-center. Caballero struck out, but McMahon moved to third on a wild pitch. Then Grisham came up and crushed a two-run homer to right-center.

That made it 5-1 Yankees.

Grisham finished 2-for-4 with a double, a homer, two runs, two RBIs, and a walk. He has had some ugly batting average numbers, sure, but the production moments keep showing up.

And that is what wins games.

Bellinger Was Not Done

In the fifth, Keegan Akin replaced Bradish.

Didn’t matter.

Bellinger jumped him too, launching another solo homer to right. His second homer of the game. His fifth of the season. His 21st career multi-homer game.

Yankees up 6-1.

You cannot make this stuff up. The same guy people were waiting on to fully heat up just went out there and controlled the entire game.

Bellinger admitted he is always making adjustments, saying he feels good, is training the right way, and is going to keep working. That is exactly what you want to hear. No panic. No over-explaining. Just work and results.

Weathers Gave The Yankees What They Needed

Ryan Weathers got the start and gave the Yankees five-plus innings. His final line was five innings, three hits, three runs, only one earned, two walks, and five strikeouts.

Was it perfect? No.

Was it strong enough? Absolutely.

He struck out Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, and Pete Alonso in the first inning after walking the leadoff man. That is how you settle a game down immediately.

The Orioles did get to him a little in the sixth. Taylor Ward singled. Henderson singled. Rutschman reached on a Ben Rice throwing error, and Baltimore eventually scored twice in the inning.

But overall, Weathers did his job.

Bellinger gave him credit after the game, saying Weathers “really set the tone,” and when the pitchers are throwing like that, it makes it easier for the offense to play its game.

The Seventh Inning Slammed The Door

Baltimore made it 6-4 in the seventh after Dylan Beavers walked, stole second, stole third, and scored on a groundout.

So yeah, for a minute, it got a little closer than it needed to be.

Then the Yankees did what good teams do.

They answered.

Ben Rice walked. Judge walked. Bellinger singled to shallow center, scoring Rice. Then Jazz Chisholm Jr. singled to right, bringing home Judge and Bellinger, with Chisholm moving to second on Tyler O’Neill’s error.

Three runs in the seventh.

Yankees up 9-4.

Game basically over.

The Lineup Is Starting To Look Dangerous

The Yankees finished with 11 hits, 3 homers, 7 walks, and 9 runs.

Bellinger drove in four. Grisham drove in two. Chisholm drove in one. Rice reached three times with a hit and two walks. Judge did not get a hit, but he walked twice and scored in the seventh.

That is the thing with this lineup. It does not always need Judge to be the monster every single day.

If Bellinger is doing this, Rice is reaching base, Grisham is running into damage, and Jazz is putting balls in play with runners on?

Good luck.

Final Word

The Yankees are 22-11. They have won 12 of 14. They are getting power, they are getting traffic on the bases, and the pitching staff continues to hold the line.

This was not just another regular-season win.

This was one of those games where you look at the box score and see the shape of a team starting to believe in itself.

Bellinger said the Yankees trust each other in that clubhouse and believe they are a talented team.

Well, they are showing it right now.

NYY.NEWS SHOP - MEMORABILIA, CLOTHING & MORE

Felix Pantaleón Avatar

Felix Pantaleón

Founder

Born in Manhattan, New York, Felix Pantaleon is a Dominican-American digital content creator and the founder of NYYNEWS, one of the first and longest-running independent New York Yankees content creator platforms, active since 2005.

LinkedIn Instagram YouTube
Fact Checked & Editorial Guidelines
Reviewed by: Subject Matter Experts

Tags:

You may also like...