The New York Yankees have won two of three thus far in their series against the Tampa Bay Rays.
They’ll wrap up the series on Thursday night, which will also mark the two teams’ final meeting of the regular season, which wraps up this weekend.
While the game doesn’t truly mean much because both the Rays and Yankees have already locked up playoff spots, Yankees manager Aaron Boone made some sudden changes to his starting lineup for the finale as the team begins to mix and match a bit.
Yankees Make Sudden Ben Rice Move
Among Boone’s changes, Yankees slugger Ben Rice will move from the leadoff role to the cleanup spot for the finale. Instead of serving as the designated hitter, he’ll start at first base.
Stepping into the leadoff role and DH spot will be veteran slugger Paul Goldschmidt, who Boone has platooned throughout this season.
Here’s the full Yankees starting lineup:
Via Underdog MLB: “Yankees 9/24 P. Goldschmidt DH C. Bellinger LF H. Ramos RF B. Rice 1B A. Rosario 3B G. Lombard Jr. SS A. Volpe 2B A. Wells C J. Caballero CF C. Schlittler SP.”
Yankees 9/24
P. Goldschmidt DH
C. Bellinger LF
H. Ramos RF
B. Rice 1B
A. Rosario 3B
G. Lombard Jr. SS
A. Volpe 2B
A. Wells C
J. Caballero CFC. Schlittler SP
— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) September 24, 2026
Rice’s 2026 Season
It’s been a stellar 2026 campaign for Rice, who is in his third MLB season, all of which have come as a member of the Yankees.
He’s appeared in 151 games and, across 562 at-bats, has managed to record 103 runs, 148 hits, 41 home runs, and 97 RBIs while hitting .263 with a .537 slugging percentage and a .900 OPS.
Yankees Right Now
New York holds a 91-67 overall record and is set to host a best-of-three series in the Wild Card Series next week.
That series is likely going to come against the Boston Red Sox, which would mark a rematch of last season’s Wild Card round.
New York Yankees Make Sudden Ben Rice Move During Rays Series