Yankees top Rays as Cody Bellinger hits 3-run homer, Max Fried wins 12th
Cody Bellinger of the Yankees celebrates his third-inning three-run home run against the Tampa Bay Rays with teammate Austin Wells at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
It has often felt like the sky is falling throughout this stretch in which the Yankees had lost 24 of their previous 39 games entering Tuesday.
But on Tuesday night, even with Aaron Judge just a few games into his expected 10-day stint on the injured list, the feelings were mostly positive.
Max Fried continued to be the ultimate stopper after Yankees losses. Cody Bellinger again proved how he has been as valuable as any Yankees position player sans Judge, and Anthony Volpe — despite two errors to bring his season total to an MLB-high-tying 15 — came through offensively in a 7-5 win over the Rays in front of 35,660 at the Stadium.
“Wins come in a bunch of different ways,” Bellinger said. “ . . . We had a lot of solid at-bats and put a few good at-bats together. And then Max really holding it down, pitching well, and giving us a chance for — going late in the game. It’s just a good win overall.”
The Yankees (58-49) climbed within four games of the AL East-leading Blue Jays (63-46), who were swept by the Orioles in a doubleheader. They also improved to 12-19 against AL East competition.
In the ninth, Devin Williams allowed a leadoff triple to Josh Lowe, who scored on Tristan Gray’s fielder’s choice groundout two batters later, but escaped with his 17th save.
Volpe had an errant throw to first that allowed Yandy Diaz to reach on what should have been a game-ending groundout, but Williams struck out Jonathan Aranda — whose third-inning solo shot extended the Rays’ lead to 3-0 — to end the game.
“Obviously got dicey there, and plays we got to finish,” manager Aaron Boone said.
Said Volpe: “I’ve never really experienced something like this . . . I know what I’m capable of. It’s obviously frustrating, but it’s not discouraging. And I know the standard that I have for myself. I’m just going to keep pushing until I just prove it to myself every day.”
Fried (12-4, 2.62 ERA) improved to 10-1 in 13 starts after a Yankees loss this season. He allowed four hits and four runs (two earned) and threw a career-high 111 pitches in 6 2⁄3 innings with nine strikeouts and two walks.
“It was just important for me to go out there and make sure — put us in a really good chance to win today,” Fried said. “Didn’t do that early, and just wanted to try to bear down and hold us there to be able to have the offense do what they do.”
Fried had retired 14 straight batters before issuing a two-out, four-pitch walk to Nick Fortes in the seventh. Boone visited the mound but ultimately left Fried in. Fried surrendered an RBI double to Taylor Walls that made it 6-4, and Jonathan Loaisiga entered and got Diaz to ground out to end the inning.
“Just kind of a stud, grinded effort by [Fried],” Boone said.
Loaisiga also pitched a scoreless eighth, working around back-to-back no-out singles with a double play started by Volpe and a foul pop to Ryan McMahon.
In the bottom of the eighth, Volpe’s 452-foot solo homer extended the Yankees’ lead to 7-4.
The Yankees trailed 3-0 entering the bottom of the third, but Bellinger smacked a two-out, three-run homer to rightfield to tie it. The 383-foot blast was Bellinger’s 20th of the season and eighth in 22 July games.
Said Boone: “A ton of big hits [from Bellinger], and obviously that was a big blow.”
Jasson Dominguez hit a leadoff single in the fourth, and his baserunning jump-started a rally that put the Yankees ahead 6-3.
Dominguez stole his 16th base of the season, moved to third on McMahon’s flyout to leftfield and scored on Volpe’s single to center. Austin Wells then reached on an error by second baseman Jose Caballero, moving Volpe to second. The Yankees put the pressure on Tampa Bay with a double steal, and Volpe scored on the catcher Fortes’ overthrow to leftfield.
Paul Goldschmidt’s two-out single plated the Yankees’ sixth run.
In the first, Volpe fielded Aranda’s grounder up the middle — a potential double-play ball and, at minimum, an easy forceout at second — and sent a backhanded flip beyond Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s reach. Volpe’s error allowed Diaz to move to second and Aranda to reach safely. Jonny DeLuca’s two-out, two-run triple gave the Rays (54-54) a 2-0 lead. Both runs were unearned.
“Obviously, there’s been some tough moments here,” Boone said of Volpe’s defense. “But for a very talented defender, he will get through it, and we got to get him there.”
Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports' general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
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