For nearly the past month, the New York Yankees have missed Cody Bellinger’s offense while dealing with Aaron Judge’s absence due to a fractured rib.
After missing 25 games with a strained left hamstring, Bellinger will be activated from the injured list on Sunday when the Yankees host the Toronto Blue Jays in the finale of a three-game series.
Bellinger is hitting .259 with 11 homers and 53 RBIs this season. He was batting .333 in eight games since the All-Star break before getting hurt July 25 in a game at Philadelphia.
“I’m very excited,” Bellinger said on Saturday morning. “I feel good. I’m ready to go.”
Bellinger likely will start in left field as the Yankees try to win their third straight home series and for the 10th time in the past 15 games. New York saw its five-game winning streak stopped with Saturday’s 4-3 loss when it was no-hit into the seventh inning by Toronto’s Dylan Cease and went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position.
Of Bellinger’s return, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said: “Very excited. He’s had a pretty good rehab process here, and he’s got tested well enough the last two nights and obviously been able to get a handful of at-bats here. So I feel like he’s ready to roll and excited to get him back.”
Toronto is 8-4 in its past 12 games and is 16-9 in its past 25. The Blue Jays collected 15 hits on Saturday and have 62 in their past five games.
On Saturday, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. returned from the seven-day concussion injured list and contributed two hits. He is hitting .324 (11-for-34) during an eight-game hitting streak, and Alejandro Kirk is batting .395 (17-for-43) during a career-best 11-game hitting streak.
“He’s still one of our best players,” Toronto manager John Schneider said of Guerrero. “Physically, he’s feeling normal. Hopefully, he can be back to his normal version of himself. That’s all we’re looking for, nothing crazy.”
New York’s Carlos Rodon (4-2, 3.22 ERA) will make his second start since returning from an elbow injury that sidelined him for over a month. The left-hander made two rehab starts before allowing one run on two hits in four innings during New York’s 3-1 win at Baltimore on Tuesday.
Rodon threw 66 pitches Tuesday in his first appearance for the Yankees since June 28 in Boston and is likely to incrementally get his pitch count increased Sunday.
Rodon is 2-4 with a 4.44 ERA in 10 career regular-season starts against the Blue Jays. He last faced them May 21 in New York when he allowed one run on three hits in five innings of a 2-0 loss.
Jose Soriano (10-6, 3.23 ERA) will make his fourth start since the Blue Jays acquired him from the Angels at the trade deadline this month. He is 1-0 with a 2.76 ERA with Toronto and earned the win Tuesday when he allowed three runs on nine hits in 5 2/3 innings in a 10-5 victory at Tampa Bay.
The right-hander has no decisions and a 1.23 ERA over two career outings against the Yankees. In his only start against them, he allowed six hits in seven innings on June 16, 2025, in New York.
–Field Level Media
