Ben Rice becomes 1st Yankees rookie to hit 3 homers in game in 14-4 rout of Red Sox

NEW YORK (AP) — Ben Rice became the first Yankees rookie to homer three times in a game and drove in seven runs as New York snapped a four-game slide with a 14-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Saturday.

Alex Verdugo hit a two-run homer and drew the ire of the Red Sox with a 32-second trot around the bases. D.J. LeMahieu also drove in a pair of runs as the Yankees won for the fifth time in 19 games. Aaron Judge added two hits.

Rafael Devers had a long homer and two RBI for Boston, which had its five-game winning streak halted.

Rice led off the game with a drive to right off Josh Winckowski and added a three-run shot off reliever Chase Anderson as part of a seven-run fifth inning. The 25-year-old first baseman capped his day with a second homer off Anderson in the seventh inning.

“What a game!” New York manager Aaron Boone said. “To set the tone right away in the first inning with a homer and put together a legendary day. Something he’ll never forget.”

After Rice’s third homer, Juan Soto stepped out of the batter’s box to allow the rookie to take a curtain call. Rice had to be encouraged by the entire New York dugout to step out to acknowledge the cheers.

“It was all happening so fast,” Rice said. “Thankfully got it in. That was pretty awesome!”

Rice entered the game with one homer in his first 46 big league at-bats. He grew up in Cohasset, Massachusetts, and signed the Pesky Pole as a child, joking that he infamously wrote ‘Yankees Rule.’ Rice noted that the only other time he could recall hitting three homers in a game was in summer league baseball in 2019. His parents were in attendance Saturday.

“Definitely a day I will never forget,” Rice said. “Pumped it was a big-time win for us over my hometown team.”

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Rice is the first rookie among the 22 Yankees who have hit three homers in a game.

“I knew right away he got it,” Boone said of Rice’s milestone homer. “Wow, what a day!”

The Yankees’ 14-hit, 14-run barrage bailed out starter Gerrit Cole, who allowed seven hits and four runs in 4 1/3 innings while striking out eight and walking two. He had struck out five straight batters before Devers’ homer and Boone believed the steamy New York weather affected Cole’s performance.

“I thought he made a lot of really good pitches all day,” Boone said. “It was really hot and I think that took its toll, especially the at-bats they took against him in the first couple of innings.”

Since returning from a right elbow injury in mid-June, Cole has failed to complete five innings in three of his four starts. Eight of Boston’s nine starters were left-handed hitters — something Cole wasn’t sure he had faced before.

“That’s forcing you to be creative,” Cole said. “It’s definitely unique.”

Devers was responsible for most of the damage against New York’s ace. In addition to a 441-foot homer, Devers had an RBI single in the third, his 1,000th career hit. As he headed toward first base after his fifth-inning homer, he shouted and gestured toward Verdugo in left field as Cole menacingly stared at him. The blast was Devers’ eighth against Cole in 43 plate appearances.

“Little by little he became a complete hitter.” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “He is the face of the franchise.”

After Soto ground out to open the fifth inning, Judge singled off Brennan Bernadino (3-2). Verdugo dropped a perfectly placed bunt down the third base line. Judge came around to score on Anthony Volpe’s ground-rule double. After a pitching change, Trent Grisham was intentionally walked, loading the bases. Rookie pinch-hitter Austin Wells forced in a run with another walk. A sacrifice fly and a LeMahieu single scored two more runs and forced another pitching change before Rice drove Chase Anderson’s second pitch into right-center field, breaking the game open.

Tim Hill (2-0) threw 2 2-3 scoreless innings for his first victory as a member of the Yankees. New York signed the veteran left-hander on June 20.

THE CHAMPS ARE HERE

UConn head men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley — winner of back-to-back NCAA championships —threw out the ceremonial first pitch. The lefty-tossing Hurley also threw out the first pitch in the Bronx on July 23, 2023, after the Huskies’ fifth national championship.

LOST IN NEW YORK

Cora has been running four miles a day going back to spring training. On Saturday, he ran through Central Park and realized he was lost. “At one point I was somewhere, and I was like, ‘No, I’m not supposed to be here,’” Cora said. “I was actually two miles away from the hotel. I was like you know what, I’m going to Uber to the hotel.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Yankees: 2B Gleyber Torres (groin) was held out of the lineup. New York manager Aaron Boone indicated Torres was available off the bench and could return to the lineup Sunday.

Red Sox: Cora did not have an update on RHP Chris Martin, who went on the 15-day IL Friday with right elbow inflammation. … There is no timeline for INF Vaughn Grissom’s return. The 23-year old has been on the injured list since March, although Cora noted that there has been some improvement.

UP NEXT

Struggling New York RHP Luis Gil (9-4, 3.41 ERA) opposes RHP Kutter Crawford (4-7, 3.47 ERA) in the series finale.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

New York Yankees' Ben Rice, front, and DJ LeMahieu celebrate following a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in New York. Rice became the first Yankees rookie to homer three times in a game and drove in seven runs as New York snapped a four-game slide with a 14-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Saturday. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

New York Yankees' Ben Rice runs the basses after hitting a home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

New York Yankees' Ben Rice celebrates after hitting a home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in New York. Rice became the first Yankees rookie to homer three times in a game and drove in seven runs as New York snapped a four-game slide with a 14-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Saturday. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

New York Yankees' Ben Rice hits a home run in the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

University of Connecticut men's basketball head coach Dan Hurley throws out the ceremonial first pitch before the first inning of a baseball game between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge, left, and Alex Verdugo celebrate after Verdugo hit a home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Boston Red Sox pitcher Josh Winckowski throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Boston Red Sox' Masataka Yoshida runs to first base for an RBI single during the third inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

New York Yankees' Ben Rice, center right, hugs family after winning a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice stands on the field during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

New York Yankees' Ben Rice runs to first base after hitting a home run during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Fans react as New York Yankees' Ben Rice runs home after hitting a home run during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

BUTLER, Pa. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump plans to return Saturday to the site where a gunman tried to assassinate him in July, setting aside what are now near-constant worries for his physical safety in order to fulfill a promise — “really an obligation,” he said recently — to the people of Butler, Pennsylvania.

“I'll probably start off by saying, ‘As I was saying ...’” the Republican presidential nominee has joked, in a bit of black humor about a speech cut short when a bullet struck Trump's ear and he was whisked off stage — fist aloft — with blood dripping across his face.

Trump's running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, also will be on hand at the Butler Farm Show grounds, as will billionaire Elon Musk, as the campaign elevates the headline-generating potential of his return with just 30 days to go in their tight campaign against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

The campaign is predicting tens of thousands of people will attend what is being pitched as a "tribute to the American spirit.” Local hotels, motels and inns are reportedly full and some eager rallygoers were already arriving Friday, according to a local Facebook page.

“President Trump looks forward to returning to Butler, Pennsylvania to honor the victims from that tragic day," said Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt. "The willingness of Pennsylvanians to join President Trump in his return to Butler represents the strength and resiliency of the American people.”

Trump will use the 5 p.m. Eastern time event to remember Corey Comperatore, a volunteer firefighter struck and killed at the July 13 rally, and to recognize the two other rallygoers injured, David Dutch and James Copenhaver. They and Trump were struck when 20-year-old shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, opened fire from an unsecured rooftop nearby before he was fatally shot by sharpshooters.

How Crooks managed to outmaneuver law enforcement that day and scramble on top of a building within easy shooting distance of the ex-president is among myriad questions that remain unanswered about the worst Secret Service security failure in decades. Another is his motive, which has never been determined.

Butler County District Attorney Rich Goldinger told WPXI-TV this week that “everyone is doubling down on their efforts to make sure this is done safely and correctly.”

Mike Slupe, the county sheriff, told the station he estimates the Secret Service — which has undergone a painful reckoning over its handling of two attempts on Trump’s life — is deploying ”quadruple the assets” it did in July.

Butler County, on the western edge of a coveted presidential swing state, is a Trump stronghold. He won the county — where turnout hovers around an impressive 80% — with about 66% of the vote in both 2016 and 2020. About 57% of Butler County’s 139,000 registered voters are Republicans, compared with about 29% who are Democrats and 14% something else.

Three months later, townspeople are divided over the value of his return. Heidi Priest, a Butler resident who started a Facebook group supporting Harris, said Trump's last visit fanned political tensions in the city.

“Whenever you see people supporting him and getting excited about him being here, it scares the people who don’t want to see him reelected,” she said.

But Trump needs to drive up voter turnout in conservative strongholds like Butler County, an overwhelmingly white, rural-suburban community, if he wants to win Pennsylvania in November. Harris, too, has targeted her campaign efforts at Pennsylvania, rallying there repeatedly as part of her aggressive outreach in critical swing states.

The campaign rally site is seen near sunrise before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at the Butler Farm Show, the site where a gunman tried to assassinate him in July, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Jacob Tampa does pushups to try and warm up as people arrive and wait in line before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at the Butler Farm Show, the site where a gunman tried to assassinate him in July, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Dan Beasley of Northville, Mich., prays with Sue Hensal of Akron, Ohio, before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show, the site where a gunman tried to assassinate him in July, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

A memorial for firefighter Corey Comperatore, who died as he shielded family members from gunfire, is seen in the bleachers before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at the Butler Farm Show, the site where a gunman tried to assassinate him in July, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The campaign rally site is seen near sunrise before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at the Butler Farm Show, the site where a gunman tried to assassinate him in July, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Bleachers are set up ahead of a campaign rally for Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at the Butler Farm Show, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Bleachers are set up ahead of a campaign event for Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at the Butler Farm Show, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

A statue of Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump is set up on a truck ahead of a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump reacts following an assassination attempt at a campaign event in Butler, Pa., July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

A statue of Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump is set up on a truck ahead of a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)