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Try it freeTAMPA — Ben Rice could not dodge the pitch, but he may have ultimately dodged a bullet.
The hot-swinging Yankees DH left Saturday’s 10-8 loss to the Rays after being drilled on the left elbow by a slider, but he underwent X-rays and a CT scan that both came back negative, which offered some relief that there was no fracture.
“I was definitely worried about it,” Rice said. “It felt fine when [manager Aaron Boone] was checking on it on first base. Then as it started to settle in a little bit, I was a little worried about it.”
Rice was not sure if the plunking would cost him any time, though he did not expect to need any more tests on the elbow.
New York Yankees’ Ben Rice, right, reacts after being hit by a pitch during the fourth inning. AP“It’s definitely pretty sore,” he said. “It’s just going to be day to day.”
After Rays reliever Manuel Rodríguez’s 88 mph slider nailed his back elbow in the top of the fourth, Rice was in obvious pain and was tended to by Boone and a trainer.
He initially stayed in to run the bases, but after scoring on Austin Wells’ sacrifice fly, Rice returned to the dugout still favoring the elbow and seconds later headed down the steps to the clubhouse followed by a trainer.
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The next time Rice’s spot in the lineup came around, he was on his way to a local hospital while Pablo Reyes pinch hit for him.
“You never like seeing that, especially out of Benny, who is tough as nails,” Aaron Judge said. “He’s been a big part of our offense all season long. Definitely a scary moment, but hoping to have some good news here and see what happened and get him back out there.”
Rice was hit by two pitches on Saturday (the first on his left foot) and came around to score both times.
X-rays came back negative after Rice was drilled by the pitch. Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn ImagesThrough 19 games, he is batting .292 with a 1.003 OPS, emerging as a semiregular leadoff hitter and a big left-handed bat to help the Yankees survive the injury absence of Giancarlo Stanton.
“Seems like he’s doing better,” Boone said. “Good news, obviously, on the X-ray. It seemed like he was getting a little more feeling back as the last couple hours have unfolded.”
