NEW YORK –The Yankees received a couple of Belli Bombs from Cody Bellinger, and it proved to be enough in a 9-4 victory over the Orioles on Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium, moving New York to a season-high 11 games over .500 at 22-11.
Bellinger is having another solid season for New York. He has reached base in 27 of 32 games this season. For the second consecutive game against Baltimore, Bellinger reached base four times, and he ended up going 4-for-4 with four RBIs.
The first time Bellinger reached base occurred in the second inning, when he connected on a 2-1 pitch from right-hander Kyle Bradish for a solo homer into the right-center-field seats, his fourth of the season.
An inning later with Aaron Judge in the batter’s box, Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman was charged with a passed ball, allowing José Caballero to score the second run of the game. Two batters later, Bellinger drove in Trent Grisham with a double.
By the time Bellinger came to the plate in the fifth inning, the Yankees had a 5-1 lead, and he added to the scoring when he belted an 0-1 pitch from Keegan Akin into the right-field seats for his fifth Belli Bomb of the season. It was the 21st multi-homer game of Bellinger’s career.
By the seventh inning, the Orioles made it close, cutting the lead to 6-4. Samuel Basallo highlighted the scoring with a two-run double off reliever Jake Bird in the sixth.
The Yankees put the game out of reach in the seventh by scoring three runs. Anthony Nunez was on the mound when Bellinger drove in his fourth run of the game. Bellinger singled off the glove of second baseman Jeremiah Jackson, and that allowed Ben Rice to score the Yankees’ seventh run. Judge and Bellinger scored on a single by Jazz Chisholm Jr.