Cody Bellinger keeps making his ugly Yankees start an afterthought with three-RBI night

Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees.This is the Cody Bellinger the Yankees envisioned when he became one of the centerpieces of their post-Juan Soto pivot.Playing right field in Thursday’s 4-0 win over Cleveland in The Bronx, Bellinger made a leaping catch at the wall in right field with the game still scoreless in the top of the fourth and then smoked a two-run homer to right-center in the bottom of the inning to give his team the lead.A two-out single through the right side of the infield gave the Yankees an insurance run in the seventh, as Bellinger continues to put his shaky start to his Yankee tenure behind him.Much of that is due to his success in hitting at Yankee Stadium, a place the lefty-swining Bellinger seemed particularly suited for when he arrived in a trade from the Cubs.Of his nine homers on the season, seven have come at home — although home runs like he hit on Thursday are not a product of the short porch in right.“Obviously, you know it’s there,” Bellinger said of the unique outfield dimensions.

“For me, I’ve got to stay within myself and swing my swing.Hopefully, good things will happen.”Lately, they have been.His ugly first month as a Yankee, when Bellinger’s OPS wallowed under .600, appears to be nothing more than a memory — and a product of his putting pressure on himself after becoming a Yankee.“First, trying to do too much,’’ Bellinger said of his poor start.

“I had so much excitement.I made the adjustments [and] had good conversations with the hitting coaches.”Asked if the adjustments were mechanical or in his approach, Bellinger said, “Both.”That led to him chasing too many pitches outside the strike zone.“He can put balls in play, but he was expanding a little too much,” Aaron Boone said.Now, Bellinger is “getting in a good hitting position and making good swing decisions,” according to the...