NEW YORK — He hit a home run in the first inning. He doubled in the third. Then a routine play turned into a scare that had the Yankees holding their breath.
Ben Rice, New York’s breakout first baseman and one of the hottest hitters in the American League, left Sunday’s 11-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles with a left hand contusion. A bad hop on a pickoff throw ended his afternoon in the third inning and left the Yankees uncertain about their lineup for Monday’s series finale.
The good news arrived quickly: X-rays were negative. The uncertainty, though, did not disappear with them.
How it happened: a low throw and a painful misread
The play came in the top of the third inning. Baltimore’s Leody Taveras was on first base when Yankees starter Max Fried attempted a pickoff.
Rice read the throw as low. He went down fast, expecting it to be in the dirt. The ball stayed up a fraction more than he anticipated. The result was a poor catch that caught the lower part of his left palm, toward the thumb side.
The slugger winced on the field. The Yankees examined him between innings.
After the game, Rice explained the sequence in detail. He was describing a play that looked routine from the stands but felt immediately wrong the moment it happened.
“I read that the throw was going to be low. I thought it was going to be a little lower than it actually was,” Rice said. “So I kind of went down quickly like it was going to be in the dirt and then it kind of just stayed up at the end. So I caught it poorly, kind of hit in the palm.”
Paul Goldschmidt replaced Rice at first base when the Yankees took the field in the top of the fourth.
X-rays negative, but grip is the concern
The Yankees announced X-rays were negative shortly after Rice left the game. He himself was not surprised the results came back clean.
But the absence of a fracture did not mean the hand felt right. The real issue was grip. Rice took practice swings in the on-deck circle to test whether he could play on.
Asked what it felt like when he first swung the bat, Rice described a process of testing his limits and finding them sooner than he hoped.
“The first swing didn’t feel great,” the Yankees’ first baseman said. “I kept kind of trying to swing in the on-deck circle and it started to feel a little better. But when he ramped up the intensity” to simulate game speed, “it didn’t feel great.”
Rice said the hand was not an X-ray concern. The problem was functional. It was sore enough to compromise his swing.
“I wasn’t too concerned about the X-rays revealing anything serious,” Rice said. “But it was just enough to make me feel I couldn’t take my true swing at the ball.”
Rice’s numbers make this the Yankees’ most pressing injury concern
The timing matters because of what Rice has been this season.
Through 33 games and 25 starts at first base, Rice is hitting .343 with 12 home runs and 27 RBIs. That makes him one of the most valuable hitters in the Yankees’ order and one of the most productive first basemen in baseball through the first five weeks of the season.
Sunday was typical Rice. He led off the bottom of the first with his 12th homer of the season against Baltimore rookie starter Trey Gibson. He then doubled down the third-base line in the third inning and scored on Aaron Judge’s two-run shot. In two plate appearances before the injury ended his day, he had already reached base twice and driven in a run.
The Yankees finished 11-3, their 13th win in 15 games. But the Rice situation gave the Yankees’ clubhouse something to monitor beyond the box score.
Rice: ‘It’s a little sore, but should be alright’
After the win, Rice offered a cautiously optimistic update that gave Yankees fans reason to exhale without fully relaxing.
The Yankees slugger was asked directly how he felt after being examined and waiting through the rest of the game. His tone was measured but not alarmed.
“I feel good,” Rice said. “It’s a little sore, but should be alright.”
The Yankees said they would not know his availability for Monday until seeing how the hand responds overnight. Rice echoed that when asked if he expected to be in the lineup for the series finale.
“It’s tough to say right now,” he said. “I’ll see how I feel in the morning.”
Yankees have contingency options in place
If Rice cannot play Monday, the Yankees have plans in place.
With Giancarlo Stanton already on the injured list with a calf injury, Jasson Dominguez has been filling the designated hitter spot. If Rice sits, Dominguez could slide to left field and Cody Bellinger could shift to first base against Baltimore’s scheduled right-handed starter Shane Baz.
Goldschmidt’s performance Sunday offered some reassurance. He provided two RBIs in relief of Rice, helping the Yankees turn a 3-3 game into a seven-run eighth-inning blowout.
The Yankees open Monday’s series finale with the AL’s best record at 24-10. Cam Schlittler, 4-1 with a 1.51 ERA, starts for New York opposite Baz.
Rice’s hand is a concern. But the Yankees have built enough depth that one absence, if it comes to that, does not reshape the week.
What do you think? Will it have any impact on his red hot streak?
