On Tuesday night, Cody Bellinger gave the Yankees life. A day later, he repeated the feat.
With Aaron Judge sidelined, there’s no debating the Yankees most valuable position player.
Bellinger’s RBI triple pulled them even in the 10th, and Ryan McMahon’s fly ball single sent the Yankees to a dramatic 5-4 win over the Rays in The Bronx.
These past two wins over the floundering Rays have not come easy.
The Yankees had to rally from three runs down Tuesday, and they managed just two hits over the first seven innings Wednesday.
But clutch hits by Bellinger and Anthony Volpe — his ninth-inning homer forced extra innings — along with a strong start by Will Warren were enough Wednesday.
Tim Hill worked a scoreless 11th for the victory.
Devin Williams blew a one-run lead in the top of the ninth, allowing a two-run Josh Lowe homer for his first blown save since April 25.
The Yankees nearly had a chance to win it in the bottom of the inning after Volpe’s homer.
Austin Wells singled and Trent Grisham nearly beat out a bunt.
Wells, however, didn’t realize Grisham was just the second out of the inning and was tagged out coming off the field in a stunning moment.
In the 10th, Luke Weaver allowed the automatic runner to score on a Jonathan Aranda sacrifice fly. Bellinger answered with a one-out, run-scoring triple, but he was left stranded by Giancarlo Stanton and Jazz Chisholm Jr.
Over the span of the first seven innings, the Yankees managed just two hits. Across 14 pitches in the eighth, they doubled that number.
Grisham homered leading off the frame, and Stanton plated Ben Rice with the go-ahead run in the rally off Rays reliever Bryan Baker.
Warren received a hard-luck no decision after delivering six innings of one-run ball.
The Rays struck first in the third, when Lowe plated Taylor Walls with a two-out, run-scoring double.
That was all Warren allowed.
The young right-hander, who had struggled of late with a 6.29 ERA in five July starts, made it through six innings for the first time since June 22.
He allowed six hits, struck out four and walked only one while tying his season high with 102 pitches.
Warren received help from his defense.
Junior Caminero was picked off second base in the second, and Aranda was caught stealing in the fourth.
That loomed large in the frame, as Warren walked Lowe and allowed a single to Jake Magnum with two outs. He escaped further trouble by retiring Matt Thaiss on a weak groundout.
The bigger issue was the Yankees were doing nothing against Rays starter Zack Littell.
They managed just two hits — a McMahon double and Chisholm single — in five innings against the right-hander.
Their best chance came in the second, after consecutive walks to Grisham and Rice loaded the bases. But Bellinger, Tuesday night’s hero, grounded out to end the threat.
Finally, in the eighth, the bats woke up.
First, Grisham. Then, others followed.
Rice singled, then advanced to third on a Bellinger single and scored on Stanton’s single.
