The Yankees shook things up a bit with a new lineup for their recent game. Giancarlo Stanton took a day off after playing six consecutive days, leading to Ben Rice stepping in as the designated hitter. Additionally, Paul Goldschmidt faced off against left-handers.
This was Rice’s first time leading off this season, right in front of significant hitters like Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger.
Rice has had a standout season, yet manager Aaron Boone noted that this leadoff position isn’t likely to become a regular occurrence. Typically, Rice bats further down the order. He got the nod after a brief break, coinciding with a lefty starter, Cole Regans, who tends to perform better against right-handed hitters.
In Sunday’s game, Regans struggled, especially against Rice.
Rice had an impressive performance—hitting a home run and drawing two walks in five at-bats as his team defeated the Royals 7-0. He seemed to be hitting everyone with great success.
“We just have to keep getting reps against lefties,” he said. “Just keep swinging at good pitches and focusing on having solid at-bats. That’s what I can control.” Interestingly, his performance has exceeded both left-handed and right-handed pitchers, boasting an OPS of 1.332 against lefties and 1.255 against righties.
Even when he wasn’t starting against left-handed pitchers, Boone has made a point to use Rice as a pinch hitter from the beginning. However, that reasoning is decreasing as Rice’s performance shines through.
Against one of the league’s top lefties, Rice drew a walk right before Judge hit a home run in the first inning. Then, in the second inning, Rice launched his eighth home run of the season—quite the streak with four in just four games.
Judge commented on Rice’s leadoff performance, saying, “I thought he was going to get on base a lot. It makes my job easier to get him in scoring position,” adding that he believes Rice is a challenge for opposing pitchers. “He’s definitely among the top hitters right now.”
Boone expressed his admiration for Rice, mentioning he feels confident using him against virtually any pitcher, stressing that there are more considerations for lineup decisions beyond just the pitcher’s throwing hand.
“It’s been quality at-bat after quality at-bat,” Judge remarked about Rice. “The situation or the pitcher on the mound doesn’t seem to matter.”
Meanwhile, Volpe had what was anticipated to be his last game with Double-A Somerset before moving up. He pitched seven innings and had two hits in four at-bats. His recent performance includes four hits in eleven at-bats and two steals over four games, with plans to join SWB on Tuesday.
