SAN DIEGO - Ben Rice didn’t need a blast to make himself the center of the Yankees’ night. He kept working the zone, kept forcing San Diego to make uncomfortable pitches, and by the time New York finished off a 5-1 win at Petco Park on Saturday, he had been on base in every one of his five plate appearances.
Rice finished 3-for-3 with two walks and two runs scored as the Yankees moved to 81-61. New York got going in the second inning when Rice singled, advanced on George Lombard Jr.’s groundout and scored on Spencer Jones’ two-out double. Robbie Ray then handed out three straight walks, and Cody Bellinger cashed in with a two-run single to push the lead to 4-0.
Rice was back on base again in the third, drawing a walk before coming around on Lombard’s sacrifice fly. On the other side, Carlos Rodon held the Padres to one run over five innings, allowing two hits and striking out seven.
The Yankees’ bullpen finished the job with four scoreless frames and one hit allowed. Rodon improved to 5-3, while Ray took the loss and dropped to 11-8 after giving up five runs in 2 1/3 innings.
The result kept New York four games back of Tampa Bay in the AL East and 3 1/2 games ahead of Boston for the top AL wild card, according to MLB’s standings entering Sunday. The Yankees have now won 13 of 19 and are guaranteed at least a .500 finish for the 34th straight season.
What Rice is doing right now goes beyond one good night in San Diego. He has multiple hits in six of his last nine games and is batting .395, going 15-for-38, over that stretch, according to MLB. He has also reached base multiple times in 12 of his last 16 games.
MLB’s official numbers after Saturday show Rice at .261 with a .355 on-base percentage, .528 slugging percentage and .883 OPS across 136 games. He leads the Yankees with 36 home runs, 89 runs and 88 RBIs.
Cody Bellinger has seen the whole thing up close in the clubhouse, and he pointed to the way Rice keeps showing up with the same kind of plan at the plate.
“He seems locked in,” Bellinger said. “He’s just so talented.
Mechanically, he’s good. He’s got a great approach.
He knows what he wants to do every at-bat, and right now it’s clicking, for sure.”
Aaron Boone had his own way of describing it after watching Rice spray the ball around the yard at Petco Park. In a stadium forever linked with Tony Gwynn, Boone latched onto a comparison built around contact and control.
“I told him, he’s doing his Tony Gwynn imitation,” Boone said. “Watching him slash it all over the field, man, he keeps hitting it off the barrel, line to line, it feels like.”
According to the Padres’ official Hall of Fame history, Tony Gwynn spent his entire 20-season career with San Diego and won eight National League batting titles. Boone wasn’t putting Rice in that class. He was pointing to the way the Yankees designated hitter is doing damage without chasing one big swing.
Rice kept it simple when asked about the stretch. He said some balls found holes, but the bigger point was keeping the offense moving.
“It’s been solid overall,” Rice said. “I have some that really just found some holes for me through the infield, some other solid swings. We’ve just got to keep going.”
The last two nights at Petco Park have been especially productive for Rice. Through Friday and Saturday, he is 6-for-7 with two walks, good for a .857 batting average, .889 on-base percentage and 1.286 slugging percentage in nine plate appearances.
Friday brought his team-leading 36th homer. Saturday was all about the singles.
That production matters even more with Aaron Judge still out. The Yankees captain has played 59 games and remains on the injured list with a stress fracture of the first rib on his right side. He was hitting .248 with 17 homers, 38 RBIs and a .908 OPS when he went down.
Judge is getting closer. MLB’s latest injury update says he took on-field batting practice Sept. 4 and 5, has been facing velocity, running the bases and working in the outfield. He is expected to face live pitching Monday in New York, with a return during the upcoming homestand possible.
Rice made it clear on the YES Network broadcast that the clubhouse is eager to get Judge back, even if he doesn’t know the exact timetable.
“That’d be hard to put into words. I’m not exactly sure what the status is, but we’re all as eager to have him back now as we were right when he went out. It would mean a lot to us.”
The Yankees finish the West Coast trip Sunday with Gerrit Cole set to face former Yankee Michael King. Then they head back to Yankee Stadium, where Judge could be waiting and Rice will keep carrying a lineup that has leaned on his bat for most of the summer.
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