Against a lefty in Game 1, Ben Rice didn’t get an at-bat.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone — in one of his questionable decisions Tuesday night — opted to keep Rice’s 26 homers and .836 OPS on the bench against Red Sox southpaws Garrett Crochet and Aroldis Chapman. If Rice could’ve sparked a lineup that struggled for most of the night, he never got the chance to showcase it.
But against a right-handed pitcher in Game 2, with Boone putting him back into the cleanup spot of the Yankees’ order, Rice drilled a pitch from Brayan Bello over the right-field fence for a home run.
Cody Bellinger had kept the inning alive with a two-out single up the middle, and one pitch later, Rice put the Yankees up 2-0 in the bottom of the first to start Game 2 of their wild-card series. against the Red Sox.
Rice had carved out a significant role in the Yankees’ lineup at both first base and catcher, eventually setting up a situation where he could split time with both Paul Goldschmidt and Austin Wells.
His bat, and the power every swing contained, became an indispensable part of their lineup.
And with one swing Wednesday, and one ball that sailed over Nate Eaton’s head 106.6 mph off the bat, Rice issued an emphatic reminder of his importance.
Carlos Rodón, who dazzled in the first inning with his slider, had some run support.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
