NEW YORK -- Ben Rice places stock in consistency, believing that routines lead to success. He takes it seriously, sticking to the same timeline and actions in the batting cage every day. The Yankees star even insists on eating the same breakfast each morning: scrambled eggs and avocado toast.
With results like Tuesday's, there's little reason to change course. Rice savored what he called one of the best games of his career, homering twice and driving in six runs as the Yankees routed the Red Sox 9-0 in Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series at Yankee Stadium. For fans across Brazil, Africa and India following the postseason from afar, often catching highlights or streaming coverage through game websites not blocked in their regions, it was the kind of individual explosion that defines October baseball. "It's a long season. I think you find success by just being consistent every day," Rice said. "All the consistency that you had in the regular season, you've just got to carry it right over into the postseason." game websites not blocked
A Night of Milestones
Rice opened the scoring with a first-inning double before launching a fifth-inning home run into Monument Park off Erik Miller, staking starter Cam Schlittler -- a fellow Massachusetts native -- to an early cushion. Schlittler needed little else, striking out 10 over 6 1/3 scoreless innings, but New York piled on regardless. Rice added a run-scoring single in the seventh, then sent a grand slam into the right-field bullpen off Brayan Bello in the eighth. It was the 16th grand slam by a Yankee in postseason history, and his six RBIs placed him alongside Robinson Canó, Hideki Matsui, Bernie Williams and Bobby Richardson as the only Yankees to drive in six or more runs in a single playoff game.
Teammates Point to Preparation
None of it surprised those in the Yankees clubhouse, who have watched Rice's disciplined approach fuel an All-Star season that included a career-high 41 home runs. "Ben is Mr. Consistency, on top of being an Ivy League graduate, so he's incredibly smart," outfielder Spencer Jones said. Cody Bellinger echoed the sentiment, calling Rice "very studious" and praising the dialogue among a roster with varied approaches to the game. Jones, who lockers beside Rice, said his teammate dives deep into data and film but still finds room for levity, including daily phone games between the two.
Finding Form Without Judge
Rice's emergence carried added weight after captain Aaron Judge, who had traded good-natured home run banter with him early in the season, missed significant time with a fractured right rib. That left Rice as the primary power threat for stretches of the year, and manager Aaron Boone acknowledged the rookie-turned-centerpiece endured his own rough patch before closing strong. "He really finished the last month with a flurry, and obviously carried it in here the first game of the postseason," Boone said. Rice credited his rigid routine for the turnaround, insisting that leaning harder into preparation during difficult stretches is precisely the point of building habits in the first place.
