PHILADELPHIA — On Friday night at Citizens Bank Park, the Yankees scraped together one run, three hits, and a long evening of held breath. Then, they walked away with a 1-0 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies thanks to Cody Bellinger’s spectacular catch. It was the kind of grind that says plenty about a pitching staff and even more about a lineup running on empty.
The stakes were real. New York entered the night chasing the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East and guarding its footing in the postseason race. The Yankees also opened a 10-game road trip, and with Aaron Judge on the injured list, every tight game turns into a referendum on an offense that cannot get out of its own way.
The futility has been hard to watch. In Wednesday’s doubleheader split with the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Yankees scored in just two of 18 innings. Philadelphia offered no relief.
At the center of the noise sits Bellinger. He is one of the highest paid players on the roster, a former MVP, and lately one of the coldest bats in the order. Fans dissect every swing he takes. On this night, he handed them reasons to boo and reasons to cheer, sometimes minutes apart.
The scrutiny has followed a steep fall. Bellinger opened the season red hot, hitting near .300 with power through early May. Then the strikeouts crept in, and his OPS sank toward .760. Re-signed on a $162.5 million deal, he was supposed to steady a lineup, not become its flashpoint.
Cam Schlittler made sure the thin margin held up. The right-hander struck out 12, walked none, and carried a shutout into the eighth inning. He needed all of it, because the Yankees lineup went silent again after the fourth.
So when New York needed Bellinger, and when it wanted to throttle him, both happened inside the same nine innings.
A leaping catch that ended the night
Bellinger provided the finish. With the Yankees clinging to their 1-0 lead in the bottom of the ninth, closer David Bednar struck out Bryce Harper, then watched Brandon Marsh drive a ball toward the left-field wall.
Bellinger tracked it to the warning track and timed a leaping grab to reel it in for the second out. Alec Bohm grounded out to end the game. Bednar had his 19th save, and the shutout survived.
The glove has never been the problem. His bat was another story.
Two plays that lit the fuse
In the top of the fourth, moments after Paul Goldschmidt homered for the game’s only run, Bellinger reached base and tried to steal second. Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto threw him out. The Yankees challenged, but the original call stood after review. A promising rally died on the spot.
The top of the ninth brought a second gut punch. Ryan McMahon, pinch-hitting for Amed Rosario, was hit by a pitch from reliever Jose Alvarado to open the inning. Bellinger followed by grounding into a 4-6-3 double play, erasing the runner and any hope of an insurance run.
In a 1-0 game, those wasted chances nearly cost the Yankees everything.
Fans split over the highest paid bat
The reaction online was loud and divided. Some fans fixed on the cold bat and the wasted chances.
Posting as @ncostanzo24, one fan pointed to the money and the numbers.
“Cody Bellinger is the highest paid position player on the team and has a .525 OPS the past month. He has been a massive problem. Belli has to wake up and hit,” the fan wrote.
The caught stealing drew its own wave of anger, some aimed at the replay result and some at the decision to run.
“Cody Bellinger thrown out stealing second after review. That’s a KILLER out, you cannot give away bases like that. Make them get you out, don’t beat yourself,” a fan writing as @DaPhillyFrenzy said.
Others pushed back hard, arguing that Bellinger’s glove was the reason the Yankees won at all.
“Any of you people who are slamming Bellinger either know nothing about baseball or have not watched an inning of Yankees baseball, especially lately. This guy is a defensive star with a ton of hitting talent,” a fan using @CTrochiano wrote.
A lightning rod heading into the deadline
Bellinger’s defense keeps rescuing nights his bat cannot carry. Whether that trade-off holds as the July 31 deadline nears is the question hovering over the Yankees. Manager Aaron Boone has stayed patient.
“Probably a little more swing and miss in there,” Boone said recently of Bellinger’s approach.
Boone believes the fix is close, even as the strikeouts pile up.
“The difference between success and scuffling is razor-thin sometimes. But he’ll get it going,” Boone said.
The Yankees continue the series Saturday night in Philadelphia, with left-hander Ryan Weathers scheduled to start. Judge’s return still has no firm date. And Bellinger, cheered and jeered on the same evening, remains the lightning rod for a lineup desperate for more.
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