Ben thrice! First Yankees rookie to hit three homers in a game helps beat Red Sox

It remains far too soon to say the Yankees have their long-term solution at first base in Ben Rice.

But the rookie’s first three weeks in the majors have yet to produce much in the way of evidence to the contrary.

The slumping Yankees, a listing ship for nearly a month and in desperate need of a spark, got one from Rice on Saturday. He blasted three homers and drove in seven runs in a 14-4 victory over the Red Sox on a scorching afternoon at the Stadium.

Rice, who hit a 390-foot solo shot into the second deck in rightfield in the first inning and added 406-foot three-run shots in the fifth and seventh, became the first rookie in franchise history to homer three times in a game.

“It’s a historical day, a magical day,” said Gerrit Cole, who, like Rice, grew up a Yankees fan, though the latter did so in the heart of Red Sox Nation in Cohasset, Massachusetts. “To be honest, I’m pretty thankful I get to be on the lineup card, because I know he’ll remember it forever.”

Rice’s three-run homers capped a seven-run fifth and a four-run seventh. After the second one, which made it 14-4, the crowd of 45,504 roared for a curtain call. Encouraged by  on-deck hitter Aaron Judge and all but shoved to the dugout steps by his teammates, Rice acquiesced.

“Honestly, it all was happening so fast,” he said with a smile. “I think I was still coming off the high of hitting the home run. I was just walking through the dugout and then I just hear everyone kind of yelling at me to do something. I didn’t even know what they were talking about. Thankfully got it in. It was pretty awesome.”

The Yankees (55-36), who had lost 14 of their last 18 coming into the day, totaled 14 hits. In addition to Rice’s three hits, Judge, Alex Verdugo, Oswaldo Cabrera and DJ LeMahieu  added two each, with Verdugo hitting a two-run homer that tied it at 3-3 and LeMahieu contributing a pair of RBI singles. The Yankees went 6-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

It was a solid bounce-back victory after a stunning loss on Friday night in which Clay Holmes, one strike away from securing the win, allowed a tying two-run homer by Masataka Yoshida in the ninth and Tommy Kahnle surrendered a go-ahead two-run homer by Ceddanne Rafaela in the 10th.

“What a game,” Aaron Boone said of Rice. “And obviously in the midst of what we’re going through, to come out and set the tone right away in the first inning with a homer and then put together kind of a legendary day. Really big time, but in line with the at-bats he’s been giving.”

In his last seven games, Rice has gone 9-for-25 with four homers, three doubles and 11 RBIs. Since replacing Anthony Volpe in the leadoff spot, he is 5-for-14 with four homers and eight RBIs in three games.

Cole, still working to get his legs under him and his mechanics in sync, wasn’t especially good or bad in his fourth 2024 start, allowing four runs, seven hits and a walk in 4 1⁄3 innings.

Cole, who called the day “a grind” — primarily because of a heat index that hovered around 100 throughout — struck out eight, including five in a row at one point. He was taken out after allowing a 441-foot homer by personal nemesis Rafael Devers that gave the Red Sox a 4-3 lead in the fifth.

“I thought I threw the ball pretty well,” said Cole, who faced a Red Sox lineup stacked with lefthanded hitters in the first eight spots. “Eight lefthanders, I don’t know if I’ve faced that before. For the most part, we did a good job getting the ball to safe areas. Pitch count just kind of got run up with not good enough command on the outside corner with the breaking balls. But through it all, really making a lot of good pitches.”

Lefthanders Tim Hill and Josh Maciejewski finished up by allowing no runs and one hit in the last 4 2⁄3 innings.

The Red Sox (48-40) took a 3-1 lead in the third, getting a two-out RBI single by Devers and a couple of opposite-field bloop RBI singles by Yoshida and Reese McGuire.

Verdugo tied it in the bottom half with a two-run shot and took his time making his way around the bases against his former team, one managed by Alex Cora, who twice benched him last season for various transgressions, including showing up late.

After Cole struck out the side in the fourth, he made it five straight strikeouts starting the fifth before Devers’ 19th homer put the Red Sox ahead. Cole seemed to glare at Devers, who stood at the plate admiring the blast before demonstratively flipping his bat.

“If as a pitcher you don’t want to watch a home run trot, you probably shouldn’t give up a home run,” Cole said afterward with a shrug,

Rice, of course, hit three, an outburst the Yankees hope can help get them rolling again.

“It’s a good day for the whole team,” Cabrera said. “But at the same time, we’ve got a game tomorrow, so we have to come back and do [it] again.”