by Cody Bellinger came through in the 10th, David Bednar slammed the door, and the Yankees finally grabbed the kind of extra-inning win that had been missing from their season.
The Yankees have had a few of these games get away from them this season, so Monday night in Cleveland had a familiar ugly feeling for a while.
Early lead. Missed chances. A messy middle inning. A bullpen ride that made everybody hold their breath. The type of game where you look up in the sixth inning and wonder how the Yankees managed to turn control into survival.
But this time, they did not fold.
Cody Bellinger delivered the swing that changed the night, punching a two-run single in the 10th inning to give the Yankees a 7-5 win over the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. It was not a clean masterpiece, but it was a needed win, especially for a Yankees team that had been winless in extra-inning games this season before this one.
That matters. Not because one game in June fixes every late-game issue, but because the Yankees needed to prove they could finish one of these.
Good as Gold 💪 pic.twitter.com/dC1TKRykui
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) June 8, 2026
Paul Goldschmidt gave the Yankees the early punch
The Yankees wasted no time getting to Gavin Williams in the first inning.
After Ben Rice worked a walk, Paul Goldschmidt jumped on a cutter and sent it into the left-field seats. Just like that, the Yankees were up 2-0, and Goldschmidt continued what has quietly become one of the better stretches in this lineup.
Goldschmidt finished 1-for-4 with a homer and 3 RBI, but his fingerprints were all over this game. His two-run shot set the tone early, and his grounder in the eighth inning brought home Trent Grisham to tie the game at 5-5.
That is the version of Goldschmidt the Yankees need. Not just veteran presence. Not just “professional at-bats.” Actual production in spots where the game is sitting there waiting for somebody to take it.
Will Warren was sharp early before the third inning got ugly
Will Warren opened the night looking locked in.
He struck out the side in the first inning, getting Travis Bazzana, José Ramírez, and Chase DeLauter. That was not soft contact luck. That was command, confidence, and the kind of first inning that makes you think the Yankees might be in for a smooth night.
Then the third inning happened.
Cleveland pushed across three runs with a Steven Kwan walk, a Patrick Bailey double, a wild pitch, a Brayan Rocchio groundout, and later a José Caballero error that helped extend the damage. Warren was not destroyed, but the inning got away from him.
He finished with 4.1 innings, 3 hits, 3 runs, 2 earned runs, 2 walks, and 5 strikeouts. It was one of those starts where the line is not terrible, but the Yankees needed more length and cleaner execution behind him.
That part cannot be ignored. The Yankees made two errors in this game, and both Caballero and J.C. Escarra were involved in costly defensive moments. When you are playing on the road against a team that grinds at-bats, those mistakes become loud fast.
Oppo Pop from Ryan 👊 pic.twitter.com/PgkhFal3VH
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) June 9, 2026
Ryan McMahon gave the Yankees the lead back
Ryan McMahon has had plenty of rough offensive nights this season, but in the fifth inning he gave the Yankees a big swing.
McMahon turned on a low curveball and sent it out to left field for his seventh homer of the season, putting the Yankees ahead 4-3. It was the kind of bottom-of-the-order power the Yankees have been waiting to see more consistently.
For a few minutes, it looked like the Yankees had corrected the game.
Then the bullpen gave it right back.
Angel Martínez flipped the game before the Yankees answered late
After David Fry walked to open the sixth, Paul Blackburn entered and immediately got hurt. Angel Martínez launched a two-run homer to right-center, giving Cleveland a 5-4 lead and putting the Yankees in a bad spot.
That was the swing that could have buried them.
Instead, the Yankees kept pushing.
In the eighth inning, Grisham singled, Rice followed with another hit, and Goldschmidt’s fielder’s choice brought in Grisham to tie the game. The Yankees had a chance for more, too, with runners on the corners and one out. But Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit into a sharp double play started by Brayan Rocchio, who made a strong diving play up the middle.
That play looked like the kind of moment you regret later.
For once, the Yankees did not have to.
Cody in the clutch 🙌
🗳️ Vote Belli ➡️ https://t.co/tjcLdSQ5nl pic.twitter.com/IRunJKf5w6
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) June 9, 2026
Cody Bellinger delivered the biggest swing of the night
The 10th inning started with Ali Sánchez as the automatic runner at second. Grisham moved things along with a deep flyout, Rice was intentionally walked, and Max Schuemann worked a huge walk after challenging a called strike three that was overturned.
That loaded the bases for Bellinger.
Cleveland brought the infield in. Bellinger did not try to do too much. He put the ball in play, shot a single to left, and Sánchez and Rice both came in to score.
That was the game.
Bellinger finished 2-for-5 with 2 RBI, and his final hit was exactly why the Yankees value him in this lineup. He does not always need the loudest swing. Sometimes the game calls for a controlled at-bat, a ball through the infield, and a player who does not panic when the moment tightens.
That is what he gave them.
David Bednar looked like the closer the Yankees needed
The Yankees used seven pitchers, but David Bednar was the one who made sure the night did not turn into another bullpen headache.
Bednar entered in the ninth, struck out Rhys Hoskins and Stuart Fairchild, then returned for the 10th. Even after walking Martínez to start the inning, he did not let the game spiral. Kwan lined out, Bailey struck out looking, and Rocchio grounded out to end it.
Final line: 1.2 innings, no hits, no runs, 1 walk, and 3 strikeouts.
That is not just closing the door. That is walking into a road extra-inning game with traffic already built into the format and refusing to blink.
Yankees needed this kind of win
The Yankees improved to 39-26 with the victory, and this one felt bigger than a random June win because of how it happened.
They got early power from Goldschmidt. They got another productive night from Rice, who reached base four times with 2 hits and 2 walks. They got Grisham on base three times. They got a homer from McMahon. They got the big swing from Bellinger. And they got real late-inning stability from Bednar.
Was it perfect? No.
The defense was sloppy. The bullpen had shaky moments. Warren did not get deep enough. The Yankees struck out 10 times and left 16 runners on base. There are still things in this game that Aaron Boone and the coaching staff will not love.
But good teams win some games that look ugly in the middle.
That is what the Yankees did Monday night.
They took a lead, lost it, clawed back, survived extra innings, and finally got the hit that has been missing too many times in those spots.
For one night in Cleveland, the Yankees did not waste the moment.
They grabbed it.
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