How Ben Rice made Yankees’ postseason history never seen before in Game 1 vs. Red Sox originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The New York Yankees blew out the Boston Red Sox in the first game of the AL Wild Card series. The convincing win saw the Yankees put together a commanding 9-0 win, the most lopsided game of the playoffs so far.
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But in the win over the Red Sox, Ben Rice made some history for the Yankees’ franchise that has never happened in their extensive playoff history.
Jayson Stark of The Athletic revealed that Rice‘s two homers, a grand slam and a solo shot, were the first time a Yankees slugger has ever hit a grand slam and another homer in the same postseason game.
How Ben Rice made never-before-seen Yankees postseason history
“Finally, Yankees DH Ben Rice did something Tuesday that Babe Ruth never did, that Mickey Mantle never did, that Joe DiMaggio never did … because no Yankee in history had ever had a game quit like this dish of Rice-a-Roni.” Stark writes. ” That’s because it included: A postseason grand slam and another home run in the same postseason game.”
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There have been other hitters in the history of the New York Yankees to hit a grand slam in a postseason game. Rick Ledee hit one back in 1999 against the Red Sox.
A solo home run like Rice had in this Wild Card matchup isn’t some one-of-a-kind feat, but it’s still an impressive one nonetheless.
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It doubled the Yankees’ lead, making it 2-0 instead of the 1-0 score it was when he came up to the plate. Adding a grand slam later to really bust the game wide open, Rice’s performance in Game 1 has never been seen before.
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It is a little bit surprising that no player in Yankees’ postseason history has ever hit two home runs in the same playoff game, with one being a grand slam.
But in the first game of the Wild Card series in 2026, Rice has made this Yankees’ postseason history. It’s a little cherry-picked, but this feat of history does show how no Yankee fan has ever seen something like this, as it’s never happened before.
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