Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger are a pair of potent left-handed bats supporting Aaron Judge in the middle of the New York Yankees’ lineup.
The duo keyed the previous two wins, and the Yankees attempt to secure another series victory Sunday afternoon when they host the Baltimore Orioles.
The Yankees are 12-2 in their past 14 games and began the four-game series by outscoring Baltimore 16-6. During those two games, New York collected 22 hits, 13 walks and went 7-for-16 with runners in scoring position.
Rice hit a three-run homer in the 7-2 series-opening win, reached base three times Saturday, and has reached base at least three times in 10 games so far this season. Bellinger had two hits Friday and went 4-for-4 with a pair of solo homers and four RBIs in Saturday’s 9-4 victory.
“I love where we’re at as a team,” Bellinger said. “I’m just excited to be part of it. We like where we’re at, all of us and you want to keep rolling.”
Bellinger had his second multi-homer game this season and produced his ninth career four-hit game. The versatile outfielder had his biggest game this season and is 8-for-16 in his past four games.
“That’s Cody Bellinger, just an all-around (player), we see the speed, the athleticism, the power,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Just a great day by a great player.”
Besides trying to make better pitches against the Yankees, the Orioles are hoping to snap a three-game losing streak. Baltimore enters Sunday after getting outscored 27-11 since hitting a pair of grand slams in a 10-3 win over Houston in Game 1 of a doubleheader on Thursday.
Pete Alonso homered for the second straight game Saturday and has three homers in his past five games. The Orioles have seven hits in the series and 13 hits in the past three games while striking out 34 times in that span.
“I’m not concerned,” Baltimore manager Craig Albernaz said. “It’s more on my end. It’s more frustrating because that group in there is really talented, and I feel like we should not be three games below .500. That’s on me.”
Max Fried (4-1, 2.09 ERA), whose 47 1/3 innings are tied with Miami’s Sandy Alcantara for the major league lead, starts for the Yankees on Sunday. Fried has tossed 14 scoreless innings in wins at Boston and Texas in his past two starts.
After pitching eight scoreless innings in New York’s 4-1 win at Boston on April 22, Fried allowed four hits in six innings during Monday’s 4-2 win at Texas. It marked the second time this season Fried turned in consecutive scoreless outings and third time since joining the Yankees as a free agent last season.
The left-hander is 2-2 with a 3.27 ERA in five career starts against the Orioles. In his last start against them, Fried struck out 13 in seven innings during New York’s 7-0 win at Baltimore on Sept. 18.
Trey Gibson, Baltimore’s third-best prospect according to MLB Pipeline, will make his major league debut. Gibson was added to the taxi squad on Saturday and originally slated to start for Triple-A Norfolk on Sunday.
An undrafted free agent in 2023 out of Liberty University, Gibson was Baltimore’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2025 after going 5-8 with a 4.26 ERA in 26 games across three levels. This season, the 23-year-old right-hander is 2-2 with a 4.01 ERA in six starts at Norfolk.
“It’s going to be a fun day for him, and I just want to tell him when I see him to embrace the moment, have some fun with it,” Albernaz said about Gibson. “He put a lot of work in throughout his whole life to get to this point, and he has great stuff. I want him to trust his stuff.”
