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.

New York Yankees first base Ben Rice reacts after hitting a two-run home run against the Boston Red Sox during the first inning of Game 2 of an American League wild-card baseball playoff series, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, in

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