Ben Rice immediately responds to Aaron Boone decision in Yankees vs. Red Sox Game 2

The New York Yankees rolled with a platoon lineup in Game 1 of their Wild Card series against the Boston Red Sox. It didn't work out. Jazz Chisholm Jr. got annoyed, then avoided reporters in the postgame scrum by speaking into a pile of clothes. Ben Rice found himself nailed to the bench when the Sox were able to go directly from Garrett Crochet to Aroldis Chapman. Aaron Boone effortlessly benched 50 home runs in a must-win game while starting Trent Grisham left-on-left; Grisham went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts.

On Wednesday, Boone decided to pivot, instead bringing Rice and Chisholm Jr. back into the fold in a lineup that more closely resembled the Yankees' strongest unit. It only took four batters for that decision to be proven wise.

After a two-out Cody Bellinger smash single up the middle, Rice stepped to the plate and stomped on a slider.

The Massachusetts native delivered it well over the porch, a laser that would've been a home run in 13 of 30 ballparks across Major League Baseball.

Yankees' Ben Rice homers on first pitch of return to lineup vs. Red Sox in Game 2

Playing your stars and letting them be stars. What a novel concept!

Rice finished the regular season with a two-homer game, proving to be the margin of victory in a tightroped contest against the Baltimore Orioles. The weekend prior, he'd smashed a grand slam in extras that made all the difference in a thrilling road extra-inning victory in Baltimore against the very same club.

He isn't an elite defensive first baseman, but he mashed 26 bombs with a 131 OPS+ in a breakout season, and wasn't given a chance to continue that stretch in October because of a terrifying matchup with Crochet.

Against a pitcher that good, though, sometimes talent wins out. Rice wouldn't have been set up for success if he'd played Game 1, necessarily, but it was monstrously silly that he couldn't even sniff the field in a game where a single smack could've made a huge difference. One day too late, he got to put his power on display against the Yankees' sworn enemy. Feels good, but ... also feels bad.