Yankees first baseman Ben Rice exits vs. Orioles with bruised left hand

NEW YORK (AP) — New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice left Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Orioles with a bruised left hand after fielding a pickoff throw by Max Fried.

Rice was replaced by Paul Goldschmidt after the Yankees batted in the third. In the top half, Rice grimaced after taking a low pickoff toss from Fried with Leody Taveras on first.

“I read that the throw was going to going to be low. I thought it was going to be a little lower than it actually was,” Rice said after New York’s 11-3 win. “So I kind of went down quickly like it was going to be in the dirt and then it kind of just stayed up at the end. So I caught it poorly, kind of hit in the palm.”

The Yankees said X-rays were negative and Rice is day to day.

Rice homered in the first inning before doubling and scoring on Aaron Judge’s two-run homer in the third. Rice is hitting .343 with 12 homers and 27 RBIs in 33 games, including 25 starts at first base.

The Yankees have been mostly healthy this season, though they put Giancarlo Stanton on the injured list last week with a strained right calf.

A few hours after Sunday’s game, the Yankees reinstated shortstop Anthony Volpe from the IL and optioned him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Volpe had been on a rehab assignment following left shoulder surgery on Oct. 14.

If Volpe is optioned to the minors for at least 20 days, it would delay his free-agent eligibility by a year until after the 2029 season. José Caballero has been playing well as New York’s regular shortstop in Volpe’s absence.

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