One out, seventh inning, 2-2 tie in Arlington. Ben Rice watched from the dugout as supervisor Aaron Boone known as Paul Goldschmidt to pinch-hit for Austin Wells.
When Goldschmidt crushed a 0-2 fastball over the left-field wall for the go-ahead run, the New York Yankees had their first lead because the fifth inning. Extra importantly, that they had it as a result of Rice’s catching capacity made the essential substitution doable.
The 26-year-old’s emergence as a multi-position weapon could not be extra well timed.
The Yankees entered Wednesday’s Texas sequence finale having blown a seven-game AL East lead since Could 28, sitting 6.5 video games behind Toronto and three.5 behind Boston for the primary wild card. They’d began August 0-5, determined for any break earlier than dealing with Houston at dwelling.
Rice represents the interior resolution they’ve wanted. His .779 OPS sits effectively above the .719 MLB common, powered by 16 dwelling runs and elite contact metrics. Baseball Savant ranks him within the ninety fifth percentile or greater in hard-hit share, common exit velocity, anticipated slugging and anticipated weighted on-base common.
These numbers appear unattainable contemplating the place Rice began. The 2021 Twelfth-round Dartmouth choose hit .171 in 178 plate appearances final season. However figuring out he’d catch in 2025, Rice added 10 kilos to his body and labored relentlessly on his receiving abilities.
