Ben Rice Reaches 41 Home Runs to Lead Yankees Past Rays

Ben Rice hit two solo home runs in a 9-2 win over the Rays, surpassing manager Aaron Boone's preseason prediction of 39 homers.

Ben Rice hit his 40th and 41st home runs of the season during the New York Yankees' 9-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night. The designated hitter drove Mason Englert’s first pitch into the right-field second deck for a solo shot in the first inning and added another solo homer in the fourth. Rice finished the game with three hits and a walk, moving into a four-way tie for the American League home run lead alongside Pete Alonso, Junior Caminero, and Yordan Alvarez.

With these milestones, Rice became the 13th player in Yankees history to record a 40-home run season. He is only the third Yankee to reach that mark within his first three seasons, joining Joe DiMaggio and Aaron Judge. The 25-year-old left-handed hitter currently leads the team with 97 RBIs and a .900 OPS while maintaining a .263 batting average. His 2026 campaign includes 16 go-ahead home runs and three game-tying blasts.

The performance surpassed a spring training prediction by manager Aaron Boone, who projected Rice would finish the year with 39 home runs. Rice, a 12th-round draft pick from Dartmouth, has anchored the New York offense during extended absences for Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. Since August 22, Rice has batted .333 (34-for-102) to rebound from a mid-season slump where his average dropped to .248.