​Ben Rice homered twice to lift the New York Yankees to a 12-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday. The win kept the Yankees (51-42) in the mix in the AL standings as they split the four-game series at Tropicana Field, staying four games behind the Rays (54-37) for first place in the AL East.
Rice’s two long balls moved him to 28 homers on the season, one behind the AL home-run leader, Yordan Álvarez of the Houston Astros. With his second homer on Thursday, Rice surpassed the Rays’ Junior Caminero, who briefly held a share of the top spot in the league during the game. Caminero had opened the scoring in the first inning off Yankees opener Paul Blackburn with his 27th homer, his first in five games after a stretch of 11 homers across 11 games.
The first of Rice’s homers, struck in the third inning, required a replay review. Initially called a home run from the field, the ball appeared to clear a yellow line at the top of the fence, suggesting it might have stayed in play. Rice initially acted as if the ball wasn’t a homer, perhaps thinking it would be ruled otherwise because Rays right fielder Ryan Vilade chased the carom back onto the field. But the replay confirmed the ball went over the yellow line and landed in the first row of seats, making the call a homer.
There was no doubt about Rice’s second homer, a three-run shot in the sixth that nearly cleared the stingray tank behind the center-field wall. The play was routine on review and stood as called. Rice finished the day 2-for-4 with two homers and five RBIs, bolstering his already strong RBI total and solidifying his place among the league’s most productive hitters. His 65 RBIs place him third in the American League among sluggers, trailing only Álvarez and Nick Kurtz of the Oakland Athletics.
In support of Rice, Ryan McMahon drove in two runs for New York, while Trent Grisham, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Cody Bellinger, José Caballero and Austin Wells each added an RBI. Wells contributed with his fifth home run of the season, further padding the Yankees’ offense in a game highlighted by Rice’s breakout power display.
On the mound, Rays starter Dennis Rasmussen struggled, giving up six runs and seven hits over just 2 1/3 innings. The Rays’ bullpen fared no better, with four relievers surrendering at least one run, led by Casey Legumina’s three runs allowed. For the Yankees, Blackburn and Jake Bird combined to yield three runs in the first two and two-thirds innings, a rough start that didn’t derail New York’s offense once Rice got rolling.
Looking ahead, the Yankees will finish their seven-game road trip with three games at the Washington Nationals before the MLB All-Star break, hoping to carry the momentum from this offensive outburst into the second half of the season. The Rays, meanwhile, will host the Seattle Mariners for a three-game series to close out the first half, aiming to maintain their lead in the division thanks to a strong first half. Rice’s performance gave New York a glimmer of optimism as they head toward the break, underscoring the importance of continued production from their middle of the order.