Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham power Yankees to another win over Orioles
The Yankees entered this winter with two high-ceiling, no-longer- that -young outfield prospects in Jasson Domínguez and Spencer Jones who deserve a shot at extended playing time.
And yet Brian Cashman & Co. filled up the major league outfield by winning a drawn-out free-agent competition for Cody Bellinger , who became the second-highest-paid player in baseball this season, and extending a qualifying offer to Trent Grisham , who accepted.
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When he opted to retain the 2025 outfield and rely on the prospects as depth rather than immediate help, Cashman might have had days like Saturday in mind.
After Aaron Judge and Ben Rice did the heavy lifting throughout April, it was Bellinger, with some help from Grisham, who assumed the load during a 9-4 victory over the Orioles in front of 46,049 — the season’s second sellout, thanks in part to a Max Fried Mandalorian bobblehead giveaway — on a brisk, early May afternoon in The Bronx.
“I love where we’re at as a team, and I’m just excited to be a part of it,” Bellinger said after the Yankees (22-11) won for the 12th time in 14 games and perhaps landed an early haymaker on the Orioles, who entered this series hoping to establish themselves as an AL East contender and thus far have been outscored 16-6.
Baltimore did not have enough answers for Ryan Weathers , who allowed just one run on a Pete Alonso homer before sixth-inning issues, and could not hold down a pair of bats that have become nearly afterthoughts in the Yankees’ order.
Bellinger entered play hitting .250 with a .755 OPS, acceptable but barely visible within the shadow of Rice and Judge, who have been two of the game’s best hitters and combined for 23 home runs.
Grisham entered hitting .155 with a .616 OPS and was an early target for fans who watch box scores rather than games: There were social media complaints about Aaron Boone sticking with Grisham at leadoff, though the patient Grisham had hit into miserable luck through the first month of the season and actually averaged harder contact than he had registered in his breakout 2025 campaign.
On Star Wars Day at the Stadium, Boone might have found the fans’ lack of faith disturbing.
Bellinger and Grisham combined for three home runs, two doubles, six RBIs and six of the Yankees’ 11 hits, reaching base in seven of nine plate appearances to ensure the Yankees added to what is the AL’s best record.
Bellinger was the bigger star, finishing 4-for-4 with a pair of homers, a double and an RBI knock in each at-bat — that .755 OPS is now .855 — while Grisham went 2-for-4 with his own homer, a double and a walk.
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It was Bellinger who started the scoring in the second, hitting a moon shot into the right field seats against Kyle Bradish to begin what Boone called “a great day by a great player.”
It was Grisham who “set the tone for us,” Boone said, working an 0-2 count into a walk in the first inning, contributing a double in a two-run third and launching a two-run shot in the fourth, his fifth homer in his past 17 games.
Bellinger’s contributions were obvious — it was his second multihomer game of the season, and he finished a triple shy of the cycle — and sometimes subtler.
With two outs, runners on the corners and down 0-2 in the count in the third, Bellinger stuck his bat out and slapped a gapper into right-center.
Bellinger, a supreme athlete who struck a $162.5 million pact because he does everything well — including using his brain — noticed both Orioles middle infielders ran to receive a relay throw and no one was covering second.
“At that point, I think it was just a footrace,” said Bellinger, who won that race and turned a single into a double.
“That’s Cody Bellinger,” Boone said. “Just the all-around — you see the speed, the power, the athleticism, the two-strike hitting.”
Bellinger’s fifth-inning solo shot extended the lead to 6-1, but faulty bullpen work added some drama to a game the Yankees led 6-3 entering the bottom of the seventh.
And of course it was Bellinger who followed walks to Rice and Judge with a single that sneaked through the middle infielders, knocking in one run before Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s RBI single to right — and aggressive baserunning, taking second on a bobble that allowed Bellinger to score, too — broke the game open.
“Just a really good day by the guys,” Boone said after the type of day that the Yankees might have envisioned a few months ago.
