Ben Rice blasts three home runs as Yankees pound Red Sox, 14-4
The Yankees won the second game of their three-game series with the Boston Red Sox on Saturday on the back of their rookie first baseman.
Here are the takeaways...
-It was the Ben Rice show on Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium as the rookie first baseman had himself quite the day, hitting three home runs and driving in seven.
Things were looking good for Rice from the start as he led off the scoring in the bottom of the first inning with a solo shot. The blast off starter Josh Winckowski traveled 390 feet into the right field seats and left the bat at 105 mph.
His second home run came in the bottom of the fifth inning and broke the game open. With runners on first and second, the lefty-swinging Rice uncorked the second pitch new pitcher Chase Anderson threw, sending it 406 feet to right center for a three-run bomb. The ball had an exit velocity of 104 mph and gave New York a 10-4 lead.
The last one was the cherry on top. With the Yankees still up big in the bottom of the seventh, Rice stepped up to the plate with two runners on and facing Anderson once again. The result was exactly the same (down to the distance) as the 25-year-old lifted Anderson’s second pitch over the right-center field wall 406 feet for three more Yankee runs.
-Following his third and final dinger, fans were clamoring for a curtain call to which Rice obliged, after some directing by his teammates on where to go.
-Rice entered the day with one career home run and five RBI in 16 games on the season. He had three home runs and seven RBI on Saturday alone and bumped up all of his numbers as the first baseman now has a .294/.383/.588 slashline after his 3-for-5 performance.
-Believe it or not, New York trailed in this one heading into the bottom of the fifth. Gerrit Cole got the start, his fourth of the year, and held Boston scoreless until the third inning where things unraveled for the right-hander.
After a one-out double, Cole got the second out of the inning and had a chance to escape the inning unharmed. However, three singles and a walk drove in three runs before Cole finally recorded the final out of the inning, but not before the Red Sox took a 3-1 lead.
-Alex Verdugo tied things up in the bottom half of the inning with a home run of his own. The 422-foot two-run bomb to center was Verdugo’s 10th of the season as the outfielder finished 2-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored.
-Still tied in the top of the fifth, Cole’s nemesis Rafael Devers struck again as the third baseman tagged Cole for a solo shot to retake the lead. In 41 at-bats against Cole, Devers has eight home runs.
-The home run knocked New York’s ace out of the game after 4.1 innings. He allowed four earned runs on seven hits, two walks and eight strikeouts. Cole’s return from injury hasn’t gone how the Yankees envisioned and he now sports an unsightly 6.75 ERA (1.62 WHIP) over 17.1 innings.
-After New York’s offense regained the lead, the Yankees bullpen did well to shut the door and not allow a run over the final 4.2 innings.
Game MVP: Ben Rice
This one's simple. You can't hit three home runs in one game and not be the MVP.
Highlights
What's next
The Yankees close out their three-game series with their bitter rivals on Sunday night at 7:10 p.m.
RHP Luis Gil (9-4, 3.41 ERA) goes for New York, opposed by Red Sox RHP Kutter Crawford (4-7, 3.47 ERA).
