CLEVELAND — For the primary time since Aug. 28, Austin Wells was within the lineup however not within the cleanup spot.
Earlier than Sport 4 of the ALCS in opposition to the Guardians, Aaron Boone stated Wells had gotten away from his swing in current weeks, so he slipped him right down to the eighth spot, with Jazz Chisholm Jr. batting fourth.
And in Wells’ first at-bat of an 8-6 win that acquired the Yankees to the brink of their first World Sequence look since 2009, the slumping catcher drilled his first homer of the postseason.
It additionally snapped an 0-for-21 skid that resulted in Wells being changed behind the plate by Jose Trevino in Thursday’s Sport 3 loss.
“I undoubtedly haven’t felt like myself within the final month,” Wells stated. “However [Thursday] evening, I felt I made a giant adjustment after the sport and seen some issues from once I was going good.”
So after the hardest defeat of the season, Wells acquired to Progressive Discipline early and labored on making some fixes with the way in which his swing was approaching the ball, since he felt he had left himself uncovered to pitches up within the zone.
And if he was hitting eighth within the order, so be it.
“It doesn’t matter the place I’m within the lineup,” Wells stated. “I simply wish to be within the lineup.”
Wells had been simply 2-for-26 heading into Friday and hadn’t homered since Sept. 9.
He struck out twice later within the recreation, together with within the prime of the ninth.
“I really feel like he’s missed some pitches [and] swung by some pitches,” Aaron Boone stated earlier than the sport. “He’s sometimes a man that places the ball in play fairly effectively whereas additionally controlling the strike zone. He’s swung and missed at some pitches, perhaps, that he’s had an opportunity to do some issues with.”
That modified with two outs within the prime of the second.
After Juan Soto’s two-run shot within the first inning gave the Yankees a fast lead and Cleveland answered with a run within the backside of the inning, Guardians right-hander Gavin Williams struck out Anthony Rizzo and Anthony Volpe to open the third.
However Wells smashed a four-seam fastball from Williams into the seats in right-center.
The 407-foot homer made it 3-1.
The place Wells lands within the lineup for Saturday’s Sport 5 isn’t as vital as him getting his swing again.
Boone stated Wells “could be just a bit worn down” at this level in his rookie season, however that hasn’t shaken the supervisor’s religion in him.
“I’ve plenty of confidence in him as a hitter and who he’s, simply his DNA, as a hitter,” Boone stated. “Shifting ahead, I feel he has an opportunity to have the very best at-bats in the very best moments. He’s that form of hitter.”
