On Tuesday night in the Bronx, Ben Rice transformed into Babe Ruth.
The New York Yankees designated hitter did his best Great Bambino impression, going 4-for-5 with two home runs, a double and six RBI against the Boston Red Sox in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series.
Rice put the game away with his second home run -- a grand slam -- off Brayan Bello in the bottom of the eighth, powering the Yankees to a 9-0 rout of their archrivals.
Boston's pitching staff had no answer for the 27-year-old All-Star, who's coming off an MVP-caliber season where he swatted 41 homers with 97 RBI and an .897 OPS. He was a one-man wrecking crew, outhitting the Red Sox's entire lineup by himself.
Boston's lifeless bats mustered just three hits -- one fewer than Rice. According to OptaSTATS, he became the first player in MLB history to slug multiple homers, belt a grand slam, have all of his team's extra-base hits and outhit the entire opposing team in a game.
Accordingly, the Red Sox will need to find a way to neutralize Rice tonight if they want to win Game 2 and keep their season alive.