Ben Rice hits 2 homers for Yankees in 12-4 win, New York splits 4-game series with Rays

Ben Rice hit two home runs to help the New York Yankees to a 12-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday. The Yankees (51-42) split the four-game series with the Rays at Tropicana Field, remaining four games behind Tampa Bay (54-37) for first place in the AL East.

With his two homers, Rice now has 28 for the season, one fewer than the Houston Astros’ Yordan Alvarez for the AL home-run lead. He moved past the Rays’ Junior Caminero with his second home run on Thursday.

Caminero briefly moved ahead of Rice with his 27th homer of the season in the first inning off Yankees opener Paul Blackburn. That was his first home run in his past five games, following an 11-game span during which he hit 11 homers.

Rice’s first home run of the game, in the third inning, needed to be confirmed by replay. The call on the field was for a home run, but the fly ball appeared as if it may have landed below the yellow line at the top of the fence.

On the bases, Rice initially acted as if his drive wasn’t a home run. He may have based that on Tampa Bay right fielder Ryan Vilade persuing the ball after it caromed back onto the field. However, replay showed that the ball went over the yellow line and landed in the first row of seats.

There was no need to review Rice’s second home run of the game, a 3-run shot which nearly went into the stingray tank behind the center field wall in the sixth inning.

Rice finished the day batting 2-for-4 with 2 home runs and 5 RBI. With 65 RBI, the Yankees’ DH now ranks third in that category among AL sluggers behind Alvarez and Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz.

Ryan McMahon also drove in two runs for the Yankees with Trent Grisham, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Cody Bellinger, José Caballero and Austin Wells each getting an RBI. Wells got his on his fifth home run of the season.

Tampa Bay starter Dennis Rasmussen was roughed up for 6 runs and 7 hits in just 2 1/3 innings. Four other Rays relievers allowed at least one run as well, led by three from Casey Legumina.

For the Yankees, Blackburn and Jake Bird gave up 3 runs in the first 2 2/3 innings of the game. But that didn’t matter after Rice’s first home run and the Yankees’ subsequent scoring.

The Yankees finish off their seven-game road trip with three games at the Washington Nationals before the MLB All-Star break. The Rays host the Seattle Mariners for a three-game set to finish out their first half of the season.