The Yankees appear to have dodged a massive bullet.
Ben Rice is feeling better after leaving Sunday's win over the Orioles with a left hand contusion.
“I feel good,” he said. “It’s a little sore, but should be alright.”
Rice suffered the injury when a Max Fried pickoff caught him awkwardly on his palm in the top of the third.
“I read that the throw low, it was a little lower than I thought it actually was,” he said. “I went down quick like it was going be in the dirt and it kind of just stayed up at the end so I caught it poorly and it kind of hit me in the palm.”
The lefty took some practice swings in the on-deck circle and his hand started to feel better, but it didn’t feel great when he ramped it up towards game-speed.
He was replaced in the field by Paul Goldschmidt in the top of the fourth.
X-rays came back negative, but Rice and the Yanks are still unsure if he’ll play in Monday’s series finale, as they’ll wait and see how he feels in the morning.
Rice was sure to get in on the fun prior to the departure, though, retying Aaron Judge for the team-lead in homers before the captain took it back over a few innings later.
The 27-year-old also doubled down the third-base line in the bottom of the third.
