Aaron Judge is out with a strained right calf, and manager Aaron Boone said Tuesday the Yankees are “not expecting” their star slugger to be available when the wild-card series begins next week. That leaves Cody Bellinger as one of the players the team will lean on most heavily as it tries to make a playoff run without Judge.
Bellinger delivered again in Tuesday’s series opener against Tampa Bay, hitting a two-run home run that accounted for all the scoring in a 2-0 win at Yankee Stadium. It was his 17th homer of the season and his fifth in his last 12 games.
The home run came in the bottom of the fourth inning of a scoreless game. Ben Rice led off with a double against Tampa Bay right-hander Nick Martinez, and Bellinger followed with the shot to right field.
“[Rice] had a great at-bat in front of me [and] saw a lot of pitches,” Bellinger said. “It was a close game. I’m not trying to do too much at all. I want to keep it really simple, put a good swing on the ball.”
With Judge sidelined, Bellinger and Rice have split time in the No. 2 spot in the batting order. Bellinger’s $36.5 million salary this year trails only Judge’s $40 million on the roster, and his production has increasingly reflected that standing.
Bellinger also made a defensive play in the sixth inning that helped preserve the shutout. After Victor Mesa Jr. led off the inning with a single against pitcher Carlos Rodón, Bellinger threw out Mesa at first base to complete an inning-ending double play after Richie Palacios lined out to left field.
“He went through that stretch when he was struggling and then got injured,” Boone said, referring to an earlier slump and a hamstring injury Bellinger dealt with this season. “But he’s dialed in now and hitting line drives all over the ballpark. … It’s good to see as we get down the stretch.”
Judge missed more than three months earlier this season with a fractured rib, and the Yankees managed to stay in postseason contention during that stretch. Bellinger said the team’s approach without Judge now will need to be similar.
“I think for us, it’s one game at a time. We all believe in each other in this locker room. We’re not looking too far ahead.”
He added that the team recognizes what Judge’s absence means but is trying to focus on what it can control. “Having Judge on our team helps us tremendously,” Bellinger said. “We’ve just got to continue to come out and win games, playing for each other, leaning on each other [and] playing good baseball.”
Bellinger pointed to the depth of the roster as a reason for optimism. “We have a lot of talent in this locker room, a lot of depth,” he said. “A lot of different guys stepped up, whether it’s their first year in the big leagues or getting traded [here]. We keep playing winning baseball.”
