In a lineup that includes Juan Soto and Aaron Judge and on an afternoon that Gerrit Cole was on the mound, it was new leadoff hitter Ben Rice who would not let his team lose a fifth straight game.
It was Rice — who debuted just two and a half weeks ago — who opened the scoring with a homer, all but ended the game with another and launched himself into Yankees history with a third.
It was Rice, a 25-year-old who came up through the system without much pedigree as a 12th-rounder from Dartmouth and really without a position, who became the first Yankees rookie ever to blast three home runs in one game.
Proof of his rawness could be found in his circuitous trip through the dugout after his final shot of the afternoon, trying to find the right spot for his first curtain call as teammates jostled him.
By the time Rice’s work was done, the Yankees had pounded the Red Sox, 14-4, in front of 45,504 fans in The Bronx.
The Guy Report 