Ben Rice arrived in spring training as a man without a position. A roster spot leaving camp was far from guaranteed.

About eight months later, the first baseman/catcher/DH was in the starting lineup on Thursday night for the Yankees’ biggest game of the season, the deciding Game 3 of the AL Wild Card Series against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium.

The lefthanded-hitting Rice was batting fifth and playing first base against a lefthanded starting pitcher (Boston rookie Connelly Early), a rarity this season.

But Rice, who has been consistently barreling baseballs since the start of Grapefruit League play in February and earned the starting DH job in spring training because of Giancarlo Stanton’s elbow issues, left the Yankees no choice Thursday.

After Paul Goldschmidt, who hit .336 against

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