Ben Rice catching fire as Yankees' leadoff hitter, homers again in Subway Series-clinching win over Mets

Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News on Sep 13, 2026

Published in Baseball

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

NEW YORK — Ben Rice is proving to be a solid solution atop the Yankees’ batting order.

Serving as the Yankees’ leadoff hitter for the ninth time since Aug. 31, Rice kicked off Sunday afternoon’s 2-0 win over the Mets in the Bronx with a first-inning home run.

The lefty-swinging Rice jumped on a hanging splitter from Mets right-hander Christian Scott and yanked it 333 feet into the short porch in right field.

It was Rice’s first leadoff home run in his 24th game in that lineup slot this season — and his 38th homer overall.

Rice entered Sunday’s Subway Series finale hitting .226 with eight home runs and a .798 OPS in the No. 1 slot, with most of his leadoff appearances coming before the All-Star break.

But with primary leadoff man Trent Grisham landing on the injured list on Sept. 5 due to a right hamstring strain and Aaron Judge returning three days later from a broken rib that had sidelined him for three months, the Yankees’ lineup suddenly looks dramatically different.

Rice has taken to the role, as — after going 1 for 2 with two walks on Sunday — he is batting .320 (8 for 25) with three home runs in his past seven games as the leadoff hitter.

That includes a 3 for 4 performance in Friday night’s 6-4 win over the Mets, a game in which Rice also homered.

Sunday’s blast proved pivotal on an afternoon in which offense was hard to come by, as that — plus a third-inning solo shot by Austin Wells, who snapped an 0 for 20 skid — represented the Yankees’ only run support for Cam Schlittler.

That was all Schlittler needed, as the American League Cy Young Award favorite hurled six shutout innings and lowered his ERA to 1.96.

That’s not to say Rice is locked into the leadoff spot every game, regardless of matchup. The Yankees used him there against right-handed pitchers — against whom he has a .923 OPS this season — but sat him on Saturday against Mets left-hander Zac Thornton.

Righty-swinging Paul Goldschmidt, a notorious lefty killer, started at first base and batted leadoff against Thornton on Saturday.

Rice has mostly batted second this season, but since Judge has returned, the Yankees have used Rice in the No. 1 slot, lefty-hitting Cody Bellinger in the No. 2 hole and Judge in the No. 3 position against right-handers in all four-games.

For the season, the 27-year-old Rice is batting .260 with an .884 OPS.

His 38 home runs are a career-high — blowing past his previous best of 26 last year — and give him a strong chance of reaching 40 with 13 games remaining in the regular season.

____