By Krutik Jain

Copyright sportskeeda

The New York Yankees will start their wildcard series against the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday without Ben Rice. This came as a shock to many when the Yankees announced Austin Wells would play as the starting catcher and Paul Goldschmidt to resume duties at first base.Yankees beat reporter Meredith Marakovits shared the development on X that Rice won’t play Game 1 of the wildcard series. Garrett Crochet will be on the mound for the Red Sox.Fans shared their frustrations on X, with one noting that Rice is the hottest right now. The fan called out Yankees manager Aaron Boone and wrote:”Soooo, yeah, he’s gonna sit the hottest hitter in our line up!! 😡 Rice is 20 for 46 in his last 20 games, 4 walks 4 K’s. He’s Batting .435 w/.471 obp, slugging .761…. He has 20 hits, 8 doubles, 1 triple and 3 home runs, and 11 rbi, but yeah Boone…. Sit the kid. Friggin idiot!””So he’s benching a left handed hitter that’s red hot because they’re facing a LHP, and then starting a worse left handed hitter at the same spot 😭😭😭😭” another fan commented.”So we could’ve had Fried Rice for game 1 and Rice has been hot lately. Good job Boone!” another fan wrote.”What a JOKE. Benching red hot Ben Rice to start THIS? Idc what his stats are against lefties. He has been awful for weeks. Can’t wait to see Boone manage us out of another WS,” one fan posted.”great idea! let’s keep a guy like ben rice who’s been red hot lately out of the lineup entirely! that’ll win us a crucial game 1, boonie!” one fan sarcastically said.”I’m selling my ticket we lost, Ben Rice is one the best hitters in baseball and we are starting the worst offensive hitting catcher in the AL and a grandpa…season is over see ya next season, trade for K Marte,” one fan noted.Why are Yankees probably not starting Ben Rice vs Red Sox?While it’s true that Ben Rice has been hot lately but he has struggled against left-handed pitchers, and Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet is probably one of the best in the business.Rice has weak numbers against southpaws in his career, hitting around .208 with a .752 OPS (in 119 plate appearances). Against Crochet specifically, Rice’s stats get worse, hitting .125/.125/.250 with a single and a double in nine plate appearances.On the other hand, former MVP Paul Goldschmidt is much stronger. So, Aaron Boone and the Yankees likely see an edge in starting the veteran right‐handed batter in the Game-1 first base spot, rather than Rice.