In the offseason, the New York Yankees never sought Pete Alonso in free agency because they were confident in Ben Rice’s bat and development.
Through the first month of the season, Rice is among the best hitters in baseball, and the Yankees hope to see more productive at-bats from their first baseman when they host Alonso and the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday afternoon.
The Yankees are 11-2 in their past 13 games, and Rice’s production is in the middle of their surge. He hit a three-run homer in the second inning of Friday’s 7-2 win over Baltimore and has seven of his 11 homers this year in the past 14 games.
“I just think we’re continuing to see the evolution of one of the game’s really outstanding hitters, simple as that,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said about Rice, 27. “He’s really disciplined, and he’s got a good plan night in and night out for who he’s facing and what he wants to look for, and he does a good job of controlling the zone.
“So, this is kind of that trajectory he’s been on since he first debuted (2024). He’s just gotten better and better to the point of now he’s kind of been a wrecking ball.”
Rice is hitting .330 this season, and his latest big night was part of the Orioles surrendering 11 hits and six walks on Friday. Jose Caballero also homered, while Aaron Judge had an RBI single, scored twice and reached base four times.
Rice has a .317 average with eight homers and 18 RBIs in 16 career games against the Orioles, who are 6-10 in their past 16 games.
Alonso homered in his first at-bat at Yankee Stadium since joining the Orioles on a five-year, $155 million contract following seven seasons with the New York Mets. He drew a pair of walks and scored both runs as the Orioles were held to a season-low three hits on Friday.
The Orioles also were limited to three runs or less for the 13th time. Baltimore is 2-11 in those games.
“Obviously we want to go out there and score as many runs as possible,” Baltimore’s Blaze Alexander said. “We want to do better, and we’re going to do better.”
After the Yankees’ Will Warren struck out nine in 6 1/3 innings Friday, left-hander Ryan Weathers (1-2, 3.21 ERA) will take the mound on Saturday for his first career appearance against Baltimore. He allowed two runs on 11 hits in 12 2/3 innings in his two most recent games as the Yankees defeated the Kansas City Royals and Houston Astros.
Those starts followed his April 14 outing when he allowed four homers to the Los Angeles Angels. Weathers last pitched a week ago, when he took a no-decision in an 8-3 win against the Astros, allowing two runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Kyle Bradish (1-3, 4.20 ERA) is scheduled to start for Baltimore on Saturday. The right-hander is 1-1 with a 3.09 ERA in seven career starts against the Yankees. He has held them to a .241 batting average and has limited Judge to one hit in nine at-bats.
–Field Level Media
