Inside The Pinstripes

Yankees Sit Rising Star Against Red Sox Ace

One of the more potent bats in the New York Yankees' lineup may be sitting for Game One of the Wild Card Series.
Joseph Randazzo|
Sep 25, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice (22) follows through on an RBI ground out against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Sep 25, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice (22) follows through on an RBI ground out against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

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New York Yankees

Ben Rice's bat propelled the Yankees to a sweep of the Baltimore Orioles. Despite his two big blasts, he may not start game one of the American League Wild Card series against the Boston Red Sox.
The reason is that Boston's ace, Garrett Crochet, the lefty, will be getting the nod in game one. According to Gary Phillips of The Daily News, Paul Goldschmidt will "probably" start at first base.

As far as going with the matchups, Rice hasn't been bad against left-handed pitching. He has a .208 average against lefties, with a .752 OPS in 119 plate appearances. Rice also has seven homers, six doubles, and a triple.

Specifically, the numbers are also not great for Crochet, but the sample size isn't too large. In nine plate appearances, Rice is hitting .125/.125/.250, with a single and a double.

A big reason the Yankees may end up going with Goldschmidt is his numbers versus lefties. In 169 plate appearances, he's hitting .336/.411/.570. Just like Rice, Goldschmidt has seven home runs, but has 14 doubles.

That success against lefties has not translated against Crochet, though. In Goldschmidt's career, he is hitting .133/.188/.133 against Boston's ace. He has no home runs or doubles.

If Aaron Boone factored Crochet's high velocity into his decision, both Rice and Goldschmidt are about the same against blistering fastballs. Crochet averages 96 MPH on his fastball, and Rice has seen 260 pitches over 96 MPH. Against them, he is hitting .271 with an average exit velocity of 94.7 MPH. He has two homers and two doubles as well.

Goldschmidt is slightly worse. He has seen 273 pitches that are 96 MPH and higher. He is hitting .257 with an average exit velocity of 89.7 MPH. Goldschmidt has two homers and four doubles.

New York Yankees catcher Ben Rice
Sep 20, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; New York Yankees catcher Ben Rice (22) runs to first during the ninth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images | Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

Unfortunately, the better player will be on the bench because of the righty-lefty matchup. Rice broke out as one of the better sluggers in the American League, hitting .255/.337/.499 with 26 home runs. The underlying numbers are also stellar. He has a .299 xBA, .581 xSLG, a 56.1 hard hit rate, and 15.4% barrel rate.

Rice is also a tougher at-bat. He has an 18.9% strikeout rate and 9.4% walk rate. With Crochet, a strikeout artist with a 31.3% strikeout rate, you can make the argument that, despite Goldschmidt being the superior matchup on paper, it's Rice who gives the Yankees their best chance of making one of the better pitchers in baseball squirm.

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Joseph Randazzo
JOSEPH RANDAZZO

Joe Randazzo is a reference librarian who lives on Long Island. When he’s not behind a desk offering assistance to his patrons, he writes about the Yankees for Yankees On SI. Follow him as @YankeeLibrarian on X and Instagram.

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