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Yankees’ Aaron Boone gushes over Ben Rice’s ‘seven steaks’ night
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- Yankees’ Aaron Boone gushes over Ben Rice’s ‘seven steaks’ night
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The post Yankees' Aaron Boone gushes over Ben Rice's 'seven steaks' night appeared first on ClutchPoints .
The New York Yankees ' 12-8 victory over the St.Louis Cardinals granted them a series win on Saturday, and slugger Ben Rice was the man of the hour. The 26-year-old reached base four times, and tied a career high with seven RBIs.
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Yankees manager Aaron Boone was impressed by the lefty's results at the dish.
"To break out like he did with traffic out there all day long," manager Boone told Katie Woo of The Athletic. "Seven steaks, that's a pretty big night."
Rice recorded seven RBIs last July against the Boston Red Sox , and became the first Yankees rookie to homer three times. But, his performance against St. Louis may have carried more weight as it pertains to New York's season.
The win granted the Yankees consecutive series victories for the first time since they defeated the Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Angels towards the end of May. Additionally, they are now 2.5 games ahead of the Cleveland Guardians for the American League's final Wild Card spot.
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Across 103 games this season, Rice has hit 18 home runs, collected 45 RBIs, and earned an .805 OPS. The Massachusetts native has been one of the most unlucky players in the sport. According to Baseball Savant, his .240 batting average is quite different from his .294 xBA.
"He's hit the ball hard all year," Boone said. "We talk about unlucky and all that — he's the poster child. He's had so many balls on the screws for outs this year."
"He's definitely in a good place at the plate," Boone added. "I think he's doing a great job of controlling the zone while still making sure he's going up there aggressively looking for his pitch."
The Yankees will finish their set with the Cardinals on Sunday afternoon before gearing up for two road games against the Tampa Bay Rays .
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