Ben Rice’s Clutch Triple Lifts Yankees to Sweep of Nationals Earlier than All-Star Break

Ben Rice delivered the most important hit of the sport when the New York Yankees wanted it most, serving to his crew full a dramatic sweep of the Washington Nationals earlier than the All-Star break.

Rice hit a two-out triple off the left-center subject wall within the eighth inning Sunday, bringing residence two runs to offer the Yankees a 4-3 lead.

The late rally helped New York safe a 5-3 victory at Nationals Park and end the primary half with 4 straight wins.

Ben Rice’s Clutch Hit Lifts Yankees

The Yankees improved to 54-42 and moved nearer within the American League East race, sitting simply three video games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for first place.

The sweep additionally continued their latest comeback development, with the Yankees successful all three video games of the collection after trailing within the eighth inning or later.

“That’s the mentality we got to have,” Rice mentioned. “We go down in those later innings, just knowing we got some at-bats left. That’s the mentality we need to carry into after the break.”

The Yankees entered the collection after a tough stretch the place they misplaced 15 of 20 video games. However, their response in Washington confirmed a unique facet of the crew, with a number of gamers stepping up in key moments.

Rice’s game-changing hit got here after Max Schuemann reached base with a two-out single and Trent Grisham labored a stroll.

According to the NY Post, Rice battled by means of the at-bat earlier than sending a deep fly ball that almost grew to become his thirtieth residence run of the season. Instead, it bounced away from the Nationals outfielders, permitting two runs to attain.

Ben Rice Keeps Rolling With Clutch Triple

The triple continued Rice’s robust latest run. He reached base for the twelfth straight recreation and prolonged his hitting streak to eight video games.

“I didn’t think I got it quite right,” Rice mentioned concerning the hit. “But I saw it kept going, so I think wind must have been helping it just enough to make it a tough wall ball play there. I was happy that it didn’t get caught,” MLB reported.

New York added an insurance coverage run within the ninth inning when José Caballero hit a sacrifice fly. Paul Blackburn then closed out the sport with a six-out save.

The Yankees additionally acquired a powerful efficiency from starter Will Warren, who allowed a first-inning residence run to Nationals star James Wood however settled down afterward. Warren completed with 5 innings of labor whereas limiting Washington’s offense.

“You get punched in the mouth, you got to stay in the fight,” Warren mentioned.

Manager Aaron Boone praised his crew’s response after their tough stretch and mentioned the Yankees nonetheless have loads of work forward within the second half.

“We got a long ways to go in this,” Boone mentioned. “We’ve put ourselves in position to have a really special season.”