Ranking the Yankees' Top 5 Moments of the First Half

3.) Alex Verdugo’s big return to Fenway (6/14 @ Red Sox)

This past offseason, Verdugo joined the list of polarizing players to compete on both sides of the Yankees’ historic rivalry with the Boston Red Sox. The left fielder was over two months into his career with the Bronx Bombers before he came back to Boston, but his return to Fenway Park was well worth the wait. Verdugo came up to the plate with a runner on second and two outs in the top of the first, and crushed the first pitch he saw over the center-field wall for a two-run home run.

The former Boston outfielder showed a lot of emotion rounding the bases and was visibly excited to come through against his old club. Verdugo had a couple more big hits later in the contest, recording an RBI double in the top of the fifth inning and an RBI single in the top of the ninth. The lefty’s last knock of the evening extended the Yankees lead to 8-1, which held as the final score. 

2.) Ben Rice’s three-homer game against Boston (7/6 vs Red Sox)

The Yankees were in the middle of a difficult stretch and had just come off a heartbreaking 5-3 loss to the Red Sox in 10 innings the night before. The club was in need of a bounce-back victory and was looking for its lineup to step up in a Saturday afternoon matchup at Yankee Stadium.

Rookie Ben Rice was the Yankees’ leadoff hitter and made a statement early, driving a solo homer into the second deck in right field to give the club a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. The teams proceeded to go back and forth through the first few innings, until the Red Sox led 4-3 after the top of the fifth. The Bronx Bombers answered back with a big seven-run frame to take a 10-4 advantage in the bottom of the fifth, which was capped off with a three-run blast to right-center field by Rice.

The rookie first baseman came to the dish again with a pair of runners aboard in the bottom of the seventh inning, and deposited a three-run jack into the right-center field seats for his third homer of the afternoon. After putting New York ahead 14-4 and becoming the first rookie in franchise history to leave the yard three times in a game, Rice gave a curtain call to the crowd in the Bronx. 

1.) Soto’s go-ahead home run against San Francisco (6/2 @ Giants)

The Yankees had taken the first two matchups of their three-game series against the San Francisco Giants, but were on the verge of dropping the final contest when they trailed 5-3 entering the ninth inning. Anthony Volpe gave the club a prime opportunity to even the score when he made it a 5-4 ballgame with a one-out RBI triple.

This brought up Soto with Volpe on third base, having already once during the game. Soto came through in the clutch for New York, demolishing a two-run jolt into the right-field seats to put the Yanks up 6-5. The lefty’s blast is one of the team’s biggest hits of the season, as the dramatic home run propelled the Yankees to a 7-5 win and sealed a weekend sweep of the Giants.

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