Yankees Must Clean Up Strikeout Problem (and It Starts with Cody Bellinger)

The New York Yankees came out of Monday night's series opener against the Rays in their four-game set feeling good. It was probably their biggest win of the season so far, and they did it off the backs of Cam Schlittler, Josè Caballero, and Ben Rice. Underneath the loss, though, was an ugly blemish that's easy to ignore when things are going well.

Despite beating Tampa Bay 5-1 at the Trop, the Yankees struck out 17 times and had just two walks. Game two wasn't much different in the whiff department. They struck out 17 times again, except this time, they didn't walk a single time.

This is the first time in Yankees history that they've struck out 12 times against one pitcher through the first five innings of a game pic.twitter.com/IlpZQy6IoO
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) July 8, 2026

In both games, six out of the nine guys in the lineup struck out two or more times. Funny enough, the only slugger not to whiff in Monday's game was Ryan McMahon, who owns one of the league's worst strikeout rates, doing so at a 31.5% clip.

Cody Bellinger needs to start taking Aaron Judge's advice

A week ago, Aaron Judge mentioned that his teammates are doing too much. It feels like that message hasn't gotten through to them, and veterans like Cody Bellinger need to be the first to heed his direction. It's clear he's one of the sluggers doing too much, and if anybody needs to clean things up the most, it's him.

With Judge out, Bellinger, who, on the year, owns a 15.2% strikeout rate and 13.1% walk rate, should be leading by example at the plate. What he has done at the Trop is so far removed from what he has done all year. With his profile, he shouldn't be conducting the whiff parade with five strikeouts in two games.

New York Yankees left fielder Cody Bellinger (35) looks on from the dugout during the eighth inningagainst the Chicago White Sox at Yankee Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"That’s a lot of strikeouts,” said Cody Bellinger, according to the New York Post's Greg Joyce. “I knew we had 17 Monday. I didn’t feel like we had that many today. But the Rays, they notoriously got really good arms. Just got to continue to put the ball in play, do the little things right."

If there's one thing the Yankees need to do over the next two games, it's to work the pitch counts of their starters and apply some pressure on them. Griffin Jax was tagged for three runs after Caballero's blast, but he got the Yankees to whiff 10 times. Ian Seymour was also tagged for three runs, but he got the Yankees to strike out 12 times.

Imagine what type of damage the Yankees can do if, instead of whiffing at air, they're laying off some bad pitches a little more? Obviously, the Rays' pitching staff deserves credit for carving up the Yankees, as it seems their plan is working. Still, someone like Bellinger needs to figure out how to avoid putting himself in a hole early.

For Bellinger in particular, getting ahead in the count is paramount. Like most hitters, when Bellinger is ahead in the count, his numbers go up, and he also does a ton of damage in that position. When he's ahead, he's slashing .279/.540/.395. When the count is even, he's hitting .283/.283/.533. Things plummet anytime the pitcher is ahead. At that point, he's hitting .190/.184/.322.

It's like what Judge said. The Yankees need to simplify things, and in Bellinger's case, he needs to play to his strengths and get ahead in the count any way he can. It's easier said than done, but if the Yankees want to get back into this race against the Rays, this week offers them that opportunity.

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