Losing Anthony Rizzo isn’t just about his bat, but his defense. So when Ben Rice was called up to take the slugging left-hander’s spot, he’s being asked to fill some big shoes, and while the Yankees rookie has held his own, he had a misplay on Thursday against the Toronto Blue Jays he’d wish he had back.

In the first inning, Justin Turner came up with nobody out and men on second and third and Toronto already up, 1-0. Turner hit a soft ground ball up the first base line and Rice decided to let it go to see if it would roll foul. It did not and the ball hit the bag allowing Turner to reach first safely and applying more pressure on starter Carlos Rodon.

“Probably inexperience over there hurt him but it’s one of those plays that will probably never happen to him again,” manager Aaron Boone said after the game. “In the end, you probably got to pick it up but you know the run is scoring there and it’s spinning and if you think it’s going foul, it’s a feel…it’s just a weird play. But probably one he should have picked up and taken the out.”

Rice echoed his manager’s sentiments.

“Those are weird plays. I’ve seen my fair share of those. Usually, those do stay fair, but I thought it was going to start kicking past the line and it didn’t,” he said. “I probably should have come and gotten it, but it is what it is.”

We’ll never know whether Rice taking the out at first would have changed the game, but Rodon would allow a three-run shot to George Springer in the next at-bat to put the Yankees down 5-0 after the first. Rodon would wind up allowing eight runs over five innings in the 9-2 loss.

For the 25-year-old Rice, playing first base is a relatively new experience. The converted catcher has only 55 games at first base in the minors, with 22 of them coming this season. In total, he’s turned 28 double plays with 37 assists and six errors.

In nine games (seven starts) in the big leagues, Rice has been very solid, making two assists, and turning three double plays with no errors on his ledger.

“He’s done fine. I think he’s definitely held his own over there,” Boone said of Rice’s defense.

Rice says there are a lot of different things he’s getting used to playing first base in the major leagues. Specifically, he talked about the speed of the game, getting used to how the balls are coming off the bats, and knowing where to be on the field.

But overall, he’s happy with his progress.

“Increasingly comfortable each game. The more in-game reps, the better,” Rice said. “It’s the learning process and I’m going to keep improving as much as I can. I like the improvements that I’ve made and I’m going to continue to learn.”

With Rizzo still expected to miss several weeks, Rice could continue to get that game experience in the majors he needs to solidify his defense. Just don’t hold Thursday’s “weird” play against him.

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