Fried Rice combo sparks jokes among Yankees pitcher Max Fried and catcher Ben Rice

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NEW YORK (AP) — A Fried Rice combo left Ben Rice hungering to yuk it up with Max Fried.

About to catch his Yankees teammate for the first time, the New York catcher couldn't wait to mention the battery word play when he walked into Wednesday's pregame meeting,

“It’s such a layup of a joke I had to say it right right when we got in there," Rice said after Fried pitched the Yankees over the Chicago White Sox 8-1 and pulled New York into a first-place tie with Toronto.

Fried became the major leagues' first 19-game winner, allowing one run and four hits in seven innings with seven strikeouts and two walks. He is 6-0 with a 1.55 ERA in his last seven starts.

Fried ate up the humor.

“Ben made a joke that it was the first Fried-Rice combo,” Fried said, flashing a small smile as he recalled the exchange.

In his first season with the Yankees after signing a $218 million, eight-year contract, Fried took over as New York's ace when Gerrit Cole had Tommy John surgery. The 31-year-old left-hander will start the Yankees postseason opener next week.

Rice had been thinking of the name combo since last June 23, when he struck out and singled against Fried in a 3-1 loss to Atlanta at Yankee Stadium.

“On the score bug it was like `Fried Rice' and everyone was loving it so it was just it was too easy to not acknowledge,” Rice said.

Fried is ninth in the major leagues in ERA at 2.86, allowing one earned run or none in 15 on 32 starts. He was 10-2 with a 1.92 ERA in his first 17 outings, was bothered by a blister on his left index finger and went 3-3 with a 6.80 ERA over his next eight outings, then rebounded to go 6-0 with a 1.55 ERA in his last seven.

Wells had caught 27 of Fried's starts and J.C. Escarra four, the last on July 23.

“If we do make a deep run in the postseason, who knows what comes up,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said before the game. “Getting them together at least once, I think there’s some benefit in that.”

After the win, Boone's assessment was: “The battery seemed to be pretty strong tonight."

In his second big league season, the 26-year-old Rice is hitting .256 with 24 homers and 62 RBIs, providing left-handed power that takes advantage of Yankee Stadium's short porch. He's made 48 starts at designated hitter, 44 at first and 25 at catcher.

“It was fun. wish we got to do it sooner,” he said of catching Fried. “I enjoyed it, enjoyed getting to work with him, kind of getting used to the way his pitches move and his tendencies.”

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