At the moment, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are locked in a Game 1 duel. Yankees ace Max Fried and his Boston counterpart, Garrett Crochet, are in the midst of a battle between two of baseball's best lefties. If this continues, then New York manager Aaron Boone will need first baseman Ben Rice to come on in a big spot. Luckily for Boone, he has decided to leave Rice on the bench for Game 1, according to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch via X, formerly Twitter. Rice will start Game 2 for the Yankees instead.
“Ben Rice will start Game 2 vs. Brayan Bello, Aaron Boone said,” Hoch reported. “As for Game 1: ‘We have a really good chip over there sitting on the bench, hopefully in a big spot as well.'”
While sitting Rice against a lefty does make sense to an extent, the playoffs might not be the time for Rice to be on the bench. Veteran Paul Goldschmidt has usually started against left-handers through the regular season. Yet, Rice has been the better overall hitter this year, producing from first base and catcher this season. Is leaving the sophomore first baseman on the bench for this pivotal Game 1 the right call by Boone?
Yankees look to start Wild Card series versus Red Sox with a win
The Yankees currently lead 1-0, thanks to shortstop Anthony Volpe's solo home run into the right field bleachers off of Crochet. The Red Sox ace has pitched well against New York this season but is currently being outshined by Fried. The ex-Atlanta Braves ace, signed to an eight-year deal last winter, was supposed to be Gerrit Cole's co-ace. However, he's taken over the lead role with Cole still on the mend from Tommy John surgery undergone this past spring.
Moments like this are why the Yankees not only signed Fried, but Goldschmidt as well. The postseason experience from both veterans adds to what the New York core has experienced as well. Many of them saw what it took to win a title last October. Being able to utilize Rice and Goldschmidt to the best of their abilities will go a long way towards getting the Bombers back to the Fall Classic. Can the Yanks use a possible Game 1 win over the Red Sox to vault themselves towards championship number 28?
