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Yankees fans losing minds over Ben Rice not being in lineup vs. Angels
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- Yankees fans losing minds over Ben Rice not being in lineup vs. Angels
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The New York Yankees are back home to take on the Los Angeles Angels in just a few hours. Will Warren will toe the slab for the Yankees while southpaw Yusei Kikuchi will start for the Angels.
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The Yankees released their lineup, and slugger Ben Rice is not starting, despite leading the league in OPS at 1.256. Paul Goldschmidt is starting at first base and is leading off with Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger following. Facing a lefty starter, manager Aaron Boone decided that giving Rice a day off was in the best interest of getting another right-handed bat in the lineup. The Yankees have lost five straight games and are hoping to turn things around on Monday night.
NY won the first game of the series against the Athletics last week, but got swept by the Tampa Bay Rays in Florida over the weekend. The team started out 8-2, but are now 8-7 and in a tie for first with the Rays atop the AL East division.
Yankees fans are not happy with the decision to bench Rice for this game.
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Rice has an elite average of .389 and an OPS of 1.431 against right-handed hitters, but against lefties, his average drops to .222 with an OPS of just .522. With the ability to play catcher, it's odd not to see Boone use him there over Austin Wells . According to Yankees fans, they want to see Rice be an everyday player and not just starting against right-handers. However, not every team has a veteran hitter like Paul Goldschmidt on the bench, and maybe Boone is trying to keep him active. Goldy does have one homer and a .985 OPS in 10 at-bats this season.
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