Ben

Rice

The Yankees certainly can’t ask Rice to step it up with Aaron Judge out, but they do need him to keep doing what he’s doing. He’s tied for fourth in the majors in homers and sixth with his 45 RBI. Only Yordan Alvarez has a higher OPS.

Two of the four hits for Rice were doubles. The other extra-base hit was his 17th homer of the season, and a pair of RBI bring his season total to 39 in 57 games; putting him on pace to drive in triple digits for the first time in his young career. Rice had a bit of a scuffle earlier in May, but to say he’s been one of the breakout hitters of 2026 is certainly an understatement. There’s an awful lot to like about what Rice has done over the first two months of the year.

Rice had been considered ‘cold’ coming into this series against the Royals without a multi-hit game in slightly over a week and only two extra-base hits over that span. Oh, the horror. Now, over his last two games he’s gone 5-for-9 with a double, a triple, four RBI, and four runs scored. He’s also pushed his OPS back over 1.000, re-joining Yordan Alvarez as the only two qualified hitters to clear that plateau.

It’s a different-looking lineup for the Yankees with Ben Rice moving up to the leadoff spot to face Blue Jays youngster Trey Yesavage. Grisham has been mired in an extended tailspin at the dish, hitting .184 (9-for-49) with one homer and two steals over his last 15 games. It’s a bit unclear whether this is a one-time deal or a sign of things to come from Yankees manager Aaron Boone. It’s a situation worth monitoring over the remainder of the week.

Rice’s first hit came in the third inning when he singled off former teammate Clay Holmes. He would come around to score two batters later via an RBI single by Cody Bellinger, and drove himself home in the ninth inning when he blasted a 415-foot solo homer to give the Yankees a 5-1 lead. It was the 14th homer of the season for Rice, who has now homered four times in May and is slashing .282/.349/.615 on the month.

Paul Goldschmidt is at first base and leading off against Orioles lefty Trevor Rogers. Rice continues to see frequent opportunities against southpaws after taking a seat routinely against them earlier this season. The 27-year-old rising star launched his 13th round-tripper of the season during Monday’s series opener and has been one of the top power-hitters in baseball this year.

Rice put New York on the scoreboard with an opposite-field blast off Orioles starter Brandon Young in the third inning. It was his 13th round-tripper of the season. It was an extremely encouraging sign to see the 27-year-old burgeoning star drive the ball after going 0-for-13 with five strikeouts in three contests against the Brewers following a four-game absence due to a wrist contusion last week.

Rice struck out twice in four at-bats after missing four consecutive contests due to a left hand contusion. It might take him a couple games to knock the rust off but it’s an encouraging development that he’s back in the lineup and managed to avoid a trip to the injured list.

The 27-year-old slugger had missed each of the team’s previous four games due to a bruised left hand that he suffered while fielding a pickoff attempt from Max Fried over the weekend. He’s starting at first base and is slotted in his customary second slot in the Yankees’ lineup against Brewers’ flame-throwing right-hander Jacob Misiorowski.

At this point, you do have to wonder if the Yankees will consider putting Rice on the injured list. For now, they will continue playing short a hitter. Paul Goldschmidt is starting at first base and leading off on Thursday.