Bruised Ben Rice out of lineup again as Yankees take down Rangers
NEW YORK — Yankees manager Aaron Boone held Ben Rice out of the lineup for Tuesday’s series-opening, 7-4 win over the Rangers, marking the second straight absence for the bruised first baseman. Rice suffered a left-hand contusion in Sunday’s game against the Orioles when he caught a third-inning pickoff throw from Max Fried. He exited the game a short while later after realizing that he couldn’t get his best swing off.
Rice, considered day-to-day, missed Monday’s game for the same reason. On Tuesday, Rice said that he was feeling better following some treatment, but he had yet to swing when he spoke to reporters. He planned on trying, though.
Asked what it would take for Rice to be available off the bench Tuesday, Boone said, “If he starts doing some light hitting, and then can ramp it up even more and do the things he needs to do to be able to get a swing off, then we’d have a conversation. So we’ll see how the next few hours are here. ” The Yankees hope to have Rice back in the lineup soon, as he’s been a “wrecking ball,” as Boone recently put it.
Heading into Tuesday’s game, he led the American League with a . 343 average, and his 1. 214 OPS paced the majors.
Rice also has 12 home runs and 27 RBI this season. Even without Rice, the Yankees had no issues in the power department on Tuesday thanks to Ryan McMahon, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Paul Goldschmidt.