Cody Bellinger's career has been a rollercoaster since his 2019 NL MVP season in Los Angeles, through a couple of lean years and a bounce-back stop in Chicago before he landed with the Yankees this offseason. Tuesday night in Philadelphia, all of that noise got drowned out by one swing.
Bellinger delivered a 2-run single off Cristopher Sanchez in the first inning at Citizens Bank Park, and Ben Rice followed with an RBI single of his own to put the AL up early. It was Bellinger's 3rd All-Star nod and his first appearance since jumping to the Bronx, and he made sure it was memorable.
Bellinger makes return to All-Star Game memorable by winning MVP @MarkWSanchez
The AL pitching staff did the rest, holding the NL to just 3 hits all night with nobody even reaching second base. Miguel Vargas tacked on a solo homer in the 8th just for good measure, and the final read 4-0, AL.
Umpire Scorecards logged the final tally straight from the box score.
That shutout gives Bellinger some real company. He's now the 4th Yankee to win All-Star Game MVP, joining Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Giancarlo Stanton — a short list that says plenty about the moment. For a guy who's had to fight through injuries and inconsistency to get back to this stage, an MVP trophy in his first year in pinstripes is about as clean a validation as it gets.
MLB Trade Rumors' morning rundown put Bellinger's MVP night alongside the rest of the All-Star Game fallout.
The bigger picture here is a Yankees team getting exactly the kind of return they hoped for when they brought Bellinger in. An All-Star MVP is a nice line for the resume, but the real test comes now, with the 2nd half about to start and New York needing him to carry this kind of form into a playoff push.