AL WILD CARD SERIES: RED SOX VS YANKEES

September 29, 2026

Ben Rice

Yankee Stadium

New York Yankees

Postgame Press Conference

Yankees - 9, Red Sox - 0

Q. Spencer Jones was just talking in the clubhouse and he called you Mr. Consistency. Just how have you been able to find the consistency throughout the course of the season and of course tonight?

BEN RICE: Yeah, it's a long season. I think you can find success by just being consistent every day. You get to the postseason here today. All the consistency that you had in the regular season, you just gotta carry it right over into the postseason.

So I approached it like any other game, and do the things that helped you over 162.

Q. Four-for-five, six RBIs, you guys get the win in a strong fashion against the Red Sox. Just what will you remember most from tonight?

BEN RICE: Yeah, I'll remember getting a W versus the Red Sox. There's nothing better than that. I'll remember Cam going out there and just being lights out, like he always is. I'll remember the atmosphere. It was just an awesome night. Great way to kick off the series.

Q. What was it like for a Massachusetts kid to have a game like that against the Red Sox in the first game of the Wild Card series?

BEN RICE: Definitely adds, like, a cool little layer to it, and for Cam, too. It's always fun playing against them. And having a solid game against them is pretty cool.

Q. Not just you and Cam obviously, but Anthony and George and Austin, a pretty good day for Yankees player development in that sense. How special is that to do that tonight?

BEN RICE: Yeah, it's super fun. All of us came up with one another in a way. There was some overlap. Maybe a couple guys were ahead of others. But now we're all here in the big leagues. And it's been so cool seeing each guy have success and carve out their own role.

Definitely a tight-knit group, and we take pride in that.

Q. Growing up as a Yankees fan and Jeter fan, do you remember as a 10-year-old watching great postseason performances like Matsui's big night in the World Series?

BEN RICE: A little bit. It's probably a little hazy for me. I was pretty young. But, of course, always, like you said, Jeter, I idolized him. I was always playing with the Yankees on MLB 2K6 when I was a little guy. And just, I mean, just easy team to root for. They're always so good. Pretty cool.

Q. Being in New England, did you take a lot of razzing from your friends rooting for the Yankees?

BEN RICE: Probably not as bad as you would think. Maybe it was probably all in good fun. But definitely wearing the Yankees jersey to the first grade picture day probably got some weird looks.

Q. You talked about consistency. Was it hard to stay consistent with your approach when Judge went down and the lineup kind of had that the first time? Like, during the regular season, did that test your ability to stay within your approach at all? And is it easier now that you've kind of been through it before?

BEN RICE: Yeah, when it starts to get hard, that's all the more reason to be consistent. That you've got to lean on your everyday routine, your everyday approach, your preparation. All of that is really for the hard times. It's, like, you need that. You lean on that. That's the backbone of your season.

So just being consistent day in and day out really, really helps you get through that stuff.

Q. How do you account for all the success that the lefty hitters had tonight against their lefty pitchers?

BEN RICE: It was great. Just a great team approach all around. The at-bat quality was so good, top to bottom. Willing to take some strikes, have good at-bats.

And the communication was really good. Everyone talking about how guys' stuff looks. I think that's what these lefty hitters are capable of. It doesn't matter what arm they're throwing with.

Q. Was there any surprise that they took out Tolle when they did?

BEN RICE: I wouldn't say surprised. I wasn't sure what the move was going to be or when it was going to be. I saw Miller was getting loose. So was definitely prepared for that match-up in case it happened.

Q. Can you just take us through that AB in the fifth?

BEN RICE: Yeah. Of course, do my homework, do my preparation. I understand the pitch package that he's got. I think nobody on base there. So really just trying to get on base and see something up.

Q. You hit 41 homers during the regular season. But 1-0, 48,000 people, tense game, playoff game. Is anything compared to a home run, hitting a home run in that situation, in the playoffs like that?

BEN RICE: Pretty tough, pretty tough. That's pretty tough to beat. Anytime you can come through for the team in a playoff game feels pretty awesome.

Q. With Austin Wells, just interested what you've seen from him the last couple of months after, obviously, kind of enduring a rough start to the year?

BEN RICE: The theme of the session, I feel, has been consistency. That's Wellsy too. This guy, he wants to be behind the plate every single day. Over the last couple of the months of the season, you know how many games he was catching. He was back there all the time just grinding his preparation every single day, getting the most out of our pitchers and really making great strides offensively, too.

So him going out there tonight, we have the utmost confidence in him both behind the plate and at the dish. So it was fun to watch, and by no means was surprising.

Q. Let me hit on consistency here. Sounds like you're a creature of habit. I'm wondering if there's one or two things that you absolutely have to do or your day doesn't start?

BEN RICE: Same breakfast every day. Same routine in the cage every day. The whole timeline of the day is the same. Really just everything.

Of course, you've got different pitchers on the mound, there's different ways you prepare, but I think the consistency just leaves you asking yourself fewer questions throughout the day because you just go out there, okay, this is what I do, and this is how I'm going to go about my business and just be ready for whenever the game starts.

Q. What is that breakfast?

BEN RICE: Oh, I'm a scrambled eggs and avocado toast.

Q. I was going to ask you specifically what the consistency looked like. But since you addressed that, I'll ask you, is this the best game you've ever played?

BEN RICE: Yeah, I would say so, I guess. I don't know. It's subjective. But to do that in a playoff game is, yeah, I would say it's definitely up there.