Cody Bellinger provided the American League with a 2-0 lead in the first inning and wound up being voted 2026 MLB All-Star Game MVP for his contributions in their shutout win over the National League.
Bellinger joined Derek Jeter (2000), Mariano Rivera (2013) and current teammate Giancarlo Stanton (2022) as the only players in New York Yankees history to win All-Star Game MVP.
“It’s special, man. Wearing this jersey, I feel proud wearing it,” Bellinger said. “It comes with a lot. I just try to put my best foot forward every day and give it everything I got.”
Cody Bellinger turns focus to Dodgers, second half
Although Bellinger relished being back in the All-Star Game for the first time since his NL MVP season with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2019, he remained aware of the work ahead.
“You know, I’m going to enjoy this right now, have an off day, and then on Friday, it’s right back to it,” Bellinger said. “We got the Dodgers coming into the town. Try and win the division. High hopes of going to the World Series, winning the World Series.
“There’s a long ways to go. I’m just excited to get it going.”
When the Yankees start their weekend series against the Dodgers, they’ll do so with a 54-42 record that has them three games back of the Tampa Bay Rays for the AL East lead. New York went into the break with some momentum behind a four-game winning streak.
Bellinger also is looking to build on his own personal improvement after going through a prolonged slump.
“Baseball is the craziest game in the world. It really is,” he said. “Sometimes it’s unexplainable. Yeah, going into the break, I actually was feeling pretty good. I felt like I was on the right track. Every day is a new day. It’s not always going to be good. You just have to keep on putting your best foot forward and trying to become the best player you can be.”
The upcoming matchup is the Dodgers’ first visit to Yankee Stadium since winning the 2024 World Series. When the Dodgers returned to Rogers Centre earlier this season for the first time since winning last year’s Fall Classic, they took two of three games from the Toronto Blue Jays.
L.A. won two of three games against the Yankees at Dodger Stadium last season. That series produced record TV ratings on Fox and ESPN.
The series opener at Yankee Stadium is going to be carried by SportsNet LA, but Saturday’s game is due to be nationally televised on Fox, and the finale was selected for “Sunday Night Baseball” on NBC/Peacock.
Joe Davis and John Smoltz are expected to be on the call for Fox, and Jason Benetti will be joined by Orel Hershiser and Roger Clemens for the NBC broadcast.
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