NEW YORK — Cody Bellinger spent Wednesday night one swing away from a rare feat. He never got the chance to chase it, and he was just fine with that.
Bellinger turned in a dazzling all-around performance, falling a triple shy of the cycle while powering the Yankees to a 10-5 rout of the White Sox at Yankee Stadium. His bat set the tone from the very first inning.
The outburst was the centerpiece of a night when the Yankees offense once again refused to slow down.
Setting the tone in the first
Bellinger wasted no time stamping his mark on the game for the Yankees. He struck in the opening frame to give his team an early cushion.
After Amed Rosario doubled with two outs, Bellinger followed by driving a two-run home run into the right-field seats. The blast staked the Yankees to a 2-0 lead before the White Sox came to bat for the second time.
It was the kind of early statement that has fueled the Yankees during their hot stretch. The home run also began Bellinger’s pursuit of one of baseball’s signature individual achievements.
Building toward the cycle
From there, Bellinger kept checking boxes for the Yankees. He added the second piece of the cycle in the third inning.
Leading off the frame, Bellinger laced a stand-up double, his second extra-base hit of the night. He advanced to third on a wild pitch but was stranded there when the Yankees could not bring him home.
The single came in the fifth. Bellinger led off the inning with a line-drive base hit, leaving him needing only a triple to complete the cycle. By then, he had reached base in nearly every trip to the plate.
So close to a rare feat
The triple is the hardest leg of the cycle to capture, and Bellinger never got another swing to try. The Yankees simply had the game well in hand.
Bellinger finished 3-for-4 with a walk, piling up eight total bases and two RBIs. He was the clear standout in a lineup full of contributors, earning game MVP honors for his effort.
Had one of his hits found the gap for a triple, Bellinger would have joined an exclusive list. Instead, he settled for a monster night that did plenty to bury Chicago.
The cycle remains one of the game’s quirkier accomplishments, harder to script than a multi-homer night because the triple rarely cooperates. Bellinger had the homer, the double, and the single in hand by the fifth inning, but the blowout meant he did not need to leg out the one hit that would have made it official.
Had he done it, Bellinger would have ended a long Yankees drought. The franchise has not had a player hit for the cycle since Melky Cabrera turned the trick against these same White Sox on Aug. 2, 2009. The Yankees list of cycle hitters is a distinguished one, including Tony Fernandez in 1995, Bobby Murcer in 1972, Mickey Mantle in 1957, Joe DiMaggio in 1948, and Lou Gehrig, while Bob Meusel did it three times in the 1920s. Bellinger came up one hit short of joining that group.
Here is the history of Yankees stars who hit a cycle in a game. Incidentally, the most numbers came up against the White Sox.
| Date | Player | Opponent | Site | AB | R | H | HR | 2B | 3B | RBI |
| Aug. 2, 2009 | Melky Cabrera | Chicago White Sox | Away | 5 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Sept. 3, 1995 | Tony Fernandez | Oakland Athletics | Home | 5 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Aug. 29, 1972 | Bobby Murcer | Texas Rangers, Game 1 | Home | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| July 23, 1957 | Mickey Mantle | Chicago White Sox | Home | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| May 20, 1948 | Joe DiMaggio | Chicago White Sox | Away | 6 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Sept. 8, 1940 | Joe Gordon | Boston Red Sox | Away | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| July 19, 1940 | Buddy Rosar | Cleveland | Home | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Aug. 1, 1937 | Lou Gehrig | St. Louis Browns | Home | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| July 9, 1937 | Joe DiMaggio | Washington Senators | Home | 5 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| June 25, 1934 | Lou Gehrig | Chicago White Sox | Home | 5 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| June 3, 1932 | Tony Lazzeri | Philadelphia Athletics | Away | 6 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| July 26, 1928 | Bob Meusel | Detroit Tigers | Away | 6 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| July 3, 1922 | Bob Meusel | Philadelphia Athletics | Away | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| May 7, 1921 | Bob Meusel | Washington Senators | Away | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| July 25, 1912 | Bert Daniels | Chicago White Sox | Home | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
A red-hot stretch continues
The performance extended a scorching run for Bellinger with the Yankees. He has been one of the team’s most dangerous hitters during its surge.
Bellinger has carried a heavy load with Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton sidelined by injury. His ability to hit for both power and average has helped the Yankees avoid the offensive drop-off many expected without their stars.
On this night, Bellinger was the engine. His early homer and steady stream of hits kept the pressure on Chicago from the first inning to the last.
The eight total bases marked one of his biggest individual nights of the season. For the second game in a row, every Yankees starter recorded at least one hit, but Bellinger was the one who set the pace and refused to let Chicago settle in.
Soaking in a championship atmosphere
Bellinger delivered his show in front of some notable guests for the Yankees. New York Knicks stars Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart threw out ceremonial first pitches to celebrate their NBA title.
The outfielder said the energy in the building made the night even more memorable. He admitted the players had been following the Knicks closely.
“It was cool,” Bellinger said. “Obviously, we were all super tuned in to the series and to the postseason. What they were able to accomplish is pretty amazing.”
Bellinger drew a parallel between the Knicks’ title chase and the goal that drives every Yankees season.
“The beautiful thing is, when you play here, that’s the goal. That’s the dream,” Bellinger said. “Watching them able to accomplish that, it takes everyone.”
Keeping the bigger picture in mind
Even amid the fireworks, Bellinger kept a level head for the Yankees. He was quick to temper any midsummer hype.
The win was the Yankees‘ fourth straight and their eighth in nine games, pushing their American League East lead to 3 1/2 games at 45-27. Still, Bellinger stressed the importance of staying grounded.
“It’s June,” Bellinger said. “We’ve got to take it day by day.”
The Yankees will chase a sweep of the White Sox on Friday night, with Ryan Weathers set to face Sean Burke in the Bronx. For one night, though, the story belonged to Bellinger, who came up a single triple short of history while reminding everyone just how dangerous he has become for the Yankees.
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