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Yankees need Cody Bellinger to keep the big moments coming

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Cite

Martin, D. (2026, September 23). Yankees need Cody Bellinger to keep the big moments coming. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/09/22/sports/yankees-need-cody-bellinger-to-keep-the-big-moments-coming/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-09-23 · by Dan Martin

Quick Summary

Cody Bellinger's performance has become crucial for the New York Yankees as Aaron Judge remains sidelined with a strained calf, potentially indefinitely. In Game 1 of their recent series against Tampa Bay, Bellinger delivered a two-run homer that secured a 2-0 victory. This marks his fifth home run in twelve games and underscores his importance to the team's playoff ambitions. With Judge’s $40 million salary being slightly surpassed by Bellinger’s $36.5 million this season, manager Aaron Boone expects Bellinger to step up significantly in Judge's absence, emphasizing a collective effort but highlighting Bellinger's pivotal role.
Written by AI on 2026-09-23, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

The New York Yankees face an uncertain playoff run without their star player, Aaron Judge, who is out indefinitely due to a strained right calf. In Game 1 of the wild-card series against Tampa Bay in The Bronx on Tuesday, Cody Bellinger stepped up with a two-run home run, providing all the scoring for the Yankees' 2-0 win. With Judge's absence, Bellinger's role has become even more critical; he is currently earning a salary of $36.5 million, second only to Judge's $40 million. The team’s manager, Aaron Boone, stated that they are "not expecting" Judge to be available for the upcoming series. Bellinger’s performance in recent games and his substantial contract suggest that he will be heavily relied upon by the Yankees to carry a significant portion of their offensive load during this crucial time.

Written for “Yankees Rely On Bellinger” on 2026-10-30, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Yankees Rely On Bellinger
Sports · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 4 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the Yankees' situation and do not describe the same specific incident or time frame.”
Toronto Star
Hedges 1 of 6 claims Outlet record 64/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of Aaron Judge's injury and its implications, but do not describe the same specific incident or timeframe.”
Fox News
Hedges 2 of 14 claims Outlet record 70/100
“Article A reports on Aaron Judge being placed on the injured list due to a calf strain, while Article B discusses Cody Bellinger's role in potential playoff games with Judge out but does not specify this as the same event or time frame.”
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 7 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss Aaron Judge's injury and its impact but describe different aspects of the situation, not the same specific incident.”
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 14 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different games and periods of time, with one focusing on a game where Aaron Judge was not playing and another discussing Cody Bellinger's role in potential future playoff games without Judge.”
New York Post
Hedges 3 of 12 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the Yankees' situation and do not describe the same specific incident.”
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 9 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the Yankees' situation regarding Aaron Judge's injury and Cody Bellinger's performance, but do not describe the same specific incident.”
New York Post
Hedges 4 of 36 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different teams (Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees) facing challenges, but they do not describe the same specific incident or occurrence.”
New York Post
Hedges 1 of 10 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss Aaron Judge's injury and absence from the Yankees but describe different aspects of the situation over a day apart.”
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 5 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the Yankees' situation and outlook, with Article A focusing on Cam Schlittler's comments about needing perfection to make the playoffs, while Article B emphasizes Cody Bellinger's importance due to Aaron Judge's absence.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
27
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 27 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-23 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 15307 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Dan Martin
41 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 This October, more than most, we could use a long, classic World Series. Because when it’s over — and it looked just about over when the Brewers went ahead of the Rays in the extra innings of Game 4 on Tuesday night into Wednesday morning — that’s the last you’ll see of baseball for a while, maybe for a long while.
🔮 But I’m totally confident he will because I know how good he is and know what a good head he has.
🔮 John Harbaugh said McCarthy, who sparked a rally in the fourth quarter that fell just short Sunday against the Saints when he replaced Jameis Winston, would remain under center this week against the Texans.
🔮 The defense also might be impacted by a shoulder injury to LB Tremaine Edmunds, who also missed practice.
🔮 There will be no more talk about the 53-year drought without a title or questions about which star or coach or general manager might finally get the Knicks over the hump.
🔮 A week after the Jets sacked Cleveland’s Deshaun Watson eight times, they were unable to come up with any against New England quarterback Drake Maye in a 26-19 loss Sunday.
🔮 tRY IT NOWHero Drake Maye was 18-for-32 for 235 yards and threw three touchdowns in the win without a turnover.
🔮 Injuries to Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto didn’t help and despite playing better for part of May, a six-game losing streak in June sealed Mendoza’s fate and he was fired after a June 25 loss to the Cubs.
🔮 This one feels a little different, as not only could the Yankees not catch the small-payroll Rays in the AL East, they were swept out of the ALDS by their divisional foes.
🔮 Try it freeThat may be what the 2026 Yankee season will most be remembered for, as Judge was forced to miss such a sizable chunk of the regular season due to a fractured rib that cost him over three months and then the strained calf that prevented him from playing in the postseason.
Also by Dan Martin
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 41 articles by Dan Martin →

Topics

Game 1 Post Sports+ Tampa Bay The Bronx Yankees

Subjects

Bellinger PERSON · 14× Judge PERSON · 9× Yankees ORG · 7× Rice PERSON · 2× Tampa Bay ORG · 2× Aaron Judge PERSON · 1× Cody Bellinger’s PERSON · 1× Greg Joyce PERSON · 1× Post Sports+ ORG · 1× The Bronx GPE · 1×

Narrative

As Bellinger said following the win in Tuesday’s opener, any chance the Yankees have without Judge will be due to a collective effort. But there’s little doubt that Bellinger — whose $36.5 million salary this year is second only to Judge’s $40 million — will be called upon more than most.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-23
🔮 Try it freeThat means Cody Bellinger’s role will be even more important than it’s been for much of the season, and lately, he’s answered the call.
2026-09-23 · New York Post
Yankees need Cody Bellinger to keep the big moments coming · assertive framing

Claims (27 extracted, 0 hedged)

Aaron Judge is out, and the Yankees don’t know when — or if — he’ll be back. asserted
he → know → ?
So if they’re going to go anywhere in the playoffs, they’ll almost certainly have to do some work without him. asserted
they → go → him
Try it freeThat means Cody Bellinger’s role will be even more important than it’s been for much of the season, and lately, he’s answered the call. asserted
he → try → call
It was Bellinger’s two-run shot in Game 1 on Tuesday that provided all the scoring in the 2-0 win over Tampa Bay in The Bronx. asserted
that → provide → Bronx
With Judge out indefinitely with a strained right calf, Aaron Boone said the team was “not expecting” Judge to be available for the wild-card series that begins next week. asserted
that → say → series
As Bellinger said following the win in Tuesday’s opener, any chance the Yankees have without Judge will be due to a collective effort. But there’s little doubt that Bellinger — whose $36.5 million salary this year is second only to Judge’s $40 million — will be called upon more than most. asserted
salary → say → most
Against right-hander Nick Martinez of Tampa Bay, Bellinger hit second — a spot that he and Ben Rice have mostly split in Judge’s absence. asserted
he → hit → absence
Rice doubled off Martinez to lead off the bottom of the fourth of a scoreless game, and Bellinger followed with his shot out to right. asserted
Bellinger → double → right
“[Rice] had a great at-bat in front of me [and] saw a lot of pitches,’’ Bellinger said. asserted
Bellinger → have → pitches
I’m not trying to do too much at all. asserted
I → try → much
I want to keep it really simple, put a good swing on the ball.” asserted
I → want → ball
It’s the approach the Yankees are hoping to have without Judge, whose “moderate” strain has put their October plans in jeopardy. asserted
strain → ’ → jeopardy
“I think for us, it’s one game at a time,’’ Bellinger said. asserted
Bellinger → think → time
“We all believe in each other in this locker room. asserted
We → believe → room
We’re not looking too far ahead. asserted
We → look → ?
But it’s hard not to wonder how the lineup — and team — will withstand another Judge absence. asserted
lineup → ’ → absence
“Having Judge on our team helps us tremendously,’’ Bellinger said. asserted
Bellinger → have → us
“We’ve just got to continue to come out and win games, playing for each other, leaning on each other [and] playing good baseball. asserted
We → get → baseball
As the Yankees have noted, they’ve stayed in the postseason picture, even as Judge missed three-plus months with a fractured rib this summer. asserted
Judge → note → rib
“We have a lot of talent in this locker room, a lot of depth,” Bellinger said. asserted
Bellinger → have → depth
“A lot of different guys stepped up, whether it’s their first year in the big leagues or getting traded [here]. asserted
it → step → leagues
We keep playing winning baseball.” asserted
We → play → baseball
Bellinger added to that not just with his bat Tuesday, but with his arm, as well. asserted
Bellinger → add → arm
After Victor Mesa Jr. opened the sixth with a single off Carlos Rodón, Bellinger started an inning-ending double play two batters later when Richie Palacios lined out to left. asserted
Palacios → open → left
Mesa didn’t know where the ball was and didn’t get back to first in time to beat Bellinger’s strong throw. “He went through that stretch when he was struggling and then got injured,’’ Boone said of Bellinger’s earlier slump and hamstring injury. asserted
Boone → know → slump
“But he’s dialed in now and hitting line drives all over the ballpark. … asserted
he → dial → ballpark
It’s good to see as we get down the stretch.” asserted
we → ’ → stretch
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