In what’s been an almost ideal start to their season, the Yankees got a scare on Sunday as Ben Rice was removed from their game against the Orioles with a left hand contusion, the Yankees announced.
He is considered day-to-day, as X-rays were negative.
The injury occurred on a pickoff play in the top of the third, when Max Fried tried to get Weston Wilson off first base.
Rice, who homered in the first inning, initially remained in the game and doubled on a popup to shallow left in the bottom of the third — following the pickoff play — and scored on Aaron Judge’s homer later in the inning.
But Paul Goldschmidt took over at first base to start the fourth.
Rice has hit 12 homers on the season- trailing only Judge and the White Sox’s Munetaka Murakami — and emerged as one of the most dangerous hitters in the majors.
He opened the game with an MLB-best 1.164 OPS and after entering the season with questions about whether the lefty-swinging Rice could hit left-handed pitching, he’s mostly crushed southpaws, with five homers and an OPS of 1.324.
Alongside Judge, Rice has given the Yankees one of the best 1-2 punches in the game and he’s been at least serviceable defensively at first.
If they’re without Rice for any length of time, Goldschmidt would likely play regularly at first and Cody Bellinger also has experience at the position.
