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NEW YORK — Star Aaron Judge was scratched from the New York Yankees starting lineup from Sunday’s rain-delayed regular season finale against the Pittsburgh Pirates, and first baseman Ben Rice was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre a day after Anthony Rizzo got hurt.
Judge was in the original starting lineup playing center field but was replaced by Trent Grisham about the time New York said the game would not start as scheduled at 3:05 p.m. The field likely will be soggy when play does start.
Judge got his third game off Friday, a day after the AL East title was clinched, then returned Saturday and went 0 for 5, tying his career high with five strikeouts. He is hitting .322 and leads the major leagues with 58 homers and 144 RBIs.
Rizzo fractured the fourth and fifth fingers of his right hand when hit by a pitch from Pittsburgh’s Ryan Borucki in the seventh inning of Saturday’s 9-4 loss to the Pirates. It was the 22nd time Rizzo was hit by a pitch.
New York has not placed Rizzo on the injured list.
Rice played 48 games at first base and initially was called up after Rizzo fractured his right forearm in a collision at first base with Boston reliever Brennan Bernadino on June 16.
Drafted as a catcher out of Dartmouth in 2021, Rice batted .175 with seven homers and 23 RBIs. In the field, he committed one error in 279 chances for a .996 fielding percentage.
“He’s obviously gained a lot of experience at first base this year and I feel like he handled that all really well,” Boone said. “I feel like he handled himself defensively, maybe even better than I anticipated.”
Rice slumped after hitting three homers against the Red Sox on July 7, hitting .117 (11 for 94) in the final 31 games of his first stint before being optioned to the minors on Aug. 31. At Triple-A, Rice batted .293 with 12 homers and 33 RBIs in 30 games.
Rizzo hit .228 with eight homers and 35 RBIs in 92 games this season, including .380 (8 for 21) since returning from the injured list on Sept. 1.
A three-time All-Star, Rizzo’s 2023 season was derailed on May 28 when he collided with San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr. attempting to apply a tag on a pickoff try. He was diagnosed with a concussion two months later and hit .174 with 10 RBIs in 47 games after colliding with Tatis, finishing with a .244 average, 12 homers and 41 RBIs.
The Yankees acquired Rizzo from the Cubs at the 2021 trade deadline and re-signed him to a $40 million, two-year contract after he hit .224 with 32 homers and 75 RBIs in 130 games in 2022. New York has a $17 million option for 2025 with a $6 million buyout.
Cabrera, who has made five starts at first base, also could be an option,
DJ LeMahieu has not played since Sept. 3 because of right hip impingement.
“I think as I’ve said, Oswaldo with a glove on I’m good with,” Boone said. “He’s got a lot of work over at first this year, even going back to spring training a little bit.”
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