NEW YORK — Brian Cashman spent a winter being second-guessed. He locked up an outfield full of veterans while two highly-rated Yankees prospects, Jasson Dominguez and Spencer Jones, waited their turn.
On Saturday at Yankee Stadium, 46,049 fans showed up partly for a Max Fried Mandalorian bobblehead. They stayed for something better. The Yankees’ outfield plan looked exactly right.
Cody Bellinger went 4-for-4 with two home runs, a double and an RBI single. Trent Grisham added a two-run homer, a double and a walk. Together they drove in six runs, accounted for six of the Yankees’ 11 hits and reached base in seven of nine plate appearances. The Yankees won 9-4. They are now 22-11, owners of the AL’s best record, and have won 12 of their last 14 games.
After the Yankees cruised to victory, Bellinger was asked how he felt about where the team stood. His answer captured the mood in the clubhouse.
“I love where we’re at as a team, and I’m just excited to be a part of it,” Bellinger said.
Bellinger’s big day worth the winter grind
When Cashman spent the offseason pursuing Bellinger, the pursuit stretched across weeks of negotiations and public doubt. Bellinger had won two Gold Gloves and a batting title with the Dodgers. He had then struggled in Chicago and signed with the Yankees for a five-year, $162.5 million deal that included opt-outs. That made him the second-highest-paid player in baseball this season.
Bellinger had gone 10 Yankees games without a home run. He hit .171 with a .521 OPS in that stretch after a two-homer game against Kansas City on April 18. Friday’s two doubles suggested the slump was ending.
It ended in full on Saturday. In the second inning, Bellinger drove a solo shot off Kyle Bradish into the right-field seats.
In the third, with two outs, runners on base and an 0-2 count against him, Bellinger slapped a gapper to right-center. He noticed both Baltimore middle infielders running toward the relay point and no one covering second. He turned a single into a double on pure instinct and athleticism.
He described the moment the read clicked.
“At that point, I think it was just a footrace,” Bellinger said.
His fifth-inning solo homer off Keegan Akin extended the Yankees’ lead to 6-1. He then added an RBI single in the seventh. He missed a cycle by one triple. He raised his season OPS from .755 to .855 in a single afternoon.
According to analyst Katie Sharp, Bellinger became the fourth Yankee in 35 years with four hits, four RBI and a stolen base in one game. The others: Alex Rodriguez, Johnny Damon and Derek Jeter.
“That’s Cody Bellinger,” Boone said. “Just the all-around — you see the speed, the power, the athleticism, the two-strike hitting. Just a great day by a great player.”
Grisham’s $22M redemption
Grisham’s case drew a different kind of skepticism. The Yankees had extended him a qualifying offer, a one-year deal worth roughly $22 million. Grisham accepted. When April produced a .155 average and a .616 OPS, social media filled with questions about why Aaron Boone kept writing his name at leadoff. Those same critics did not always acknowledge that Grisham’s quality of contact was actually stronger than during his breakout 2025 campaign. His results were bad. His process was not.
Grisham supplied the early tone. He drew a walk in the first inning from an 0-2 count. He doubled in the third during a two-run Yankees frame. He launched a two-run homer in the fourth, his fifth in his last 17 games. He went 2-for-4 with a walk. His season line reads .168 average and .675 OPS. Saturday was the latest evidence that results will follow if his contact quality holds.
Weathers: Another offseason gamble paying off
Ryan Weathers was the quieter of Cashman’s January risks. The Yankees signed the 25-year-old lefty to a $2.6 million deal after he spent most of 2025 sidelined. He made just 22 starts across three seasons with the Marlins. He missed most of last year with a left forearm strain. The Yankees took the flier on upside and health.
On Saturday, Weathers earned his fifth win. He worked five innings against Baltimore. He allowed three runs, only one earned, and walked five. His ERA dropped to 3.03 across six Yankees starts covering 38 and two-thirds innings. That already surpasses his full 2025 total. Nobody expected that in March.
He also did something critical. He kept the Yankees in the game early while Bellinger and Grisham were still building momentum. He escaped a sixth-inning jam before the bullpen took over. For a rotation already stretched without Cole and Rodon, useful is exactly what the Yankees needed from a reclamation project.
Judge, Rice and Chisholm add to the damage
Aaron Judge went 1-for-3 with a walk. He reached base three times and scored once. Ben Rice drew a walk in the seventh that set the table for Bellinger’s two-run single. For the second consecutive game, the middle of the Yankees lineup did not lead by volume. It led by presence.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. added an RBI single in the seventh. His aggressive baserunning on the play, taking an extra base on a bobbled ball, allowed Bellinger to score as well.
Dominguez went 1 for 4.
Bullpen adds drama before the finish
The Yankees led 6-1 heading into the sixth inning. Weathers loaded the bases with nobody out. A misplay by Rice contributed to the jam. Boone went to Jake Bird to face Pete Alonso.
The move looked risky. It worked. Alonso grounded into a double play that scored one run. The Yankees were on the verge of escaping. Then Bird walked Tyler O’Neill and gave up an RBI double to Samuel Basallo. The lead was now 6-3 when Bird finally ended the inning.
Bird handed the ball to Doval, pitching for the second straight day. Doval walked Dylan Beavers and then struggled to hold him on base, a recurring issue in his career. Beavers stole second, then third, and scored on a groundout to trim the lead further. It was the kind of sequence that has defined Doval’s uneven season.
Doval recorded two outs before Boone called on Tim Hill, who needed just one pitch. It induced a groundout from Gunnar Henderson. Paul Blackburn then threw the final two innings without allowing a run, giving the Yankees’ bullpen a clean finish after the sixth-inning turbulence.
The Yankees outscored Baltimore 16-6 across the full series. The Orioles arrived hoping to signal themselves as an AL East contender. The Yankees answered that clearly.
What do you think? How many homers do you predict for Bellinger and Grisham this season?
