Ben Rice Breaks Yankees' 12-Inning Scoreless Streak With Third Postseason Homer in ALDS Game 2

Ben Rice had been waiting all series for one pitch to hit, and when he finally got it, he did not miss. The Yankees' slugger led off the fourth inning of ALDS Game 2 on Monday night by crushing a 372-foot home run to right field off Tampa Bay's Freddy Peralta — New York's first run of the series after 12 scoreless innings.

The blast also ended the Rays' scoreless-innings streak at 15 straight postseason frames dating back to 2023, one short of the franchise record, and it was Rice's third home run of this postseason. Nobody on the Yankees has hurt Tampa Bay more: Rice hit .356 with seven homers against the Rays during the regular season and had reached base in 21 of his last 25 games against them entering Monday.

He had already done it to Peralta before, taking the right-hander deep on a changeup back in May when Peralta was with the Mets. Monday's homer was Peralta's first allowed since Francisco Lindor led off a September 1 game with one — and it prompted Rays manager Kevin Cash to pull his starter after 4 2/3 innings, refusing to let Rice see him a third time.

For a Yankees lineup missing captain Aaron Judge and starved of production against Rays pitching, Rice keeps rewriting his own October record book — and the man Tampa Bay now fears most.