The New York Yankees' offensive struggles over the past two months have been attributed to various factors throughout the lineup, with first baseman Ben Rice's recent dip in production being a notable concern. Coming into Saturday's 4-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, Rice still boasted the fifth-highest OPS (.883) in the American League and the third-most home runs (32). However, his performance in his last 21 games has been significantly diminished, hitting just .130 with a .494 OPS and two home runs, a period that aligns with the team's overall slump.
Looking back further, over his last 46 games, Rice has batted .193 with a .694 OPS and 10 home runs. Manager Aaron Boone acknowledged Rice's difficulties, noting that he has been "going through it here in the second half." Boone specifically pointed to issues with making solid contact, stating, "Just getting under some balls or getting on top of balls. Just got to make sure he gets on a line."
Despite the challenging stretch, Rice expressed optimism about his swing, feeling that he has been hitting balls hard and has "felt increasingly good" over the last few series. "Not getting rewarded for it. Just got to keep going," Rice said after the Yankees' latest defeat. "That’s literally the only thing you can do is just keep going. It’s all you can do in this game."
In other team news, pitcher Cam Schlittler delivered a solid performance on Saturday, going 5 1/3 innings and allowing only one run while striking out seven and walking three. His ERA now stands at 2.19, positioning him in contention for the AL Cy Young award. This performance precedes Sunday's series finale, where Blue Jays ace Dylan Cease is scheduled to pitch, entering the game with a 2.40 ERA.
Injury updates also emerged, with Cody Bellinger on track to begin a rehab assignment next week for his hamstring strain. However, manager Aaron Boone remained noncommittal regarding Giancarlo Stanton's return timeline as he continues to progress from a calf strain. Stanton did not travel to Toronto and is working on his running progression, which includes base running, a stage where he re-aggravated the injury in June.
Meanwhile, the Blue Jays placed Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on the seven-day concussion injured list following a collision during Friday's game. Boone also addressed his ejection from Friday's series opener, which he called a "tired toss" by home plate umpire Vic Carapazza. Boone stated he had spoken with the league about the incident and was moving forward. "At the end of the day, that’s just one little part of the game, and it had nothing to do with us winning or losing last night. We got to find a way to score more," Boone said.