Austin Wells did more than reward the Yankees belief in him with huge Game 1
If Brian Cashman had acted as most expected him to act at the trade deadline, Austin Wells would not have taken his second-inning at-bat. Facing lefty Payton Tolle, this was a game reserved for a righty-hitting catcher.Maybe Ryan Jeffers, who might as well have been looking for a New York apartment considering the months of speculation.
Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees.Or maybe the switch-hitting Adley Rutschman, another potential Yankees target who was behind the plate Tuesday because he was redirected instead to the Red Sox, who overwhelmed the Orioles with their trade package. But Cashman did not pull the trigger on finding another catcher, even a complement, and so Wells — who had been among the worst hitters in baseball at that point — only saw his stranglehold on the starting job strengthen. That move — or rather lack of move — sure looked smart when Wells took that second-inning at-bat and drove in the only run the Yankees would need. The Yankees’ starting catcher (and with all due respect to Ali Sánchez, their only catcher) breathed even more life into his revitalized season in the Yankees’ 9-0 statement of a victory over Boston in The Bronx to move one win from an ALDS date with the Rays. Before the Yankees ran away late in the game, their offense had started with promise but only promise: Prior to Wells stepping up for his first at-bat, the club had gone 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position and was threatening to waste another opportunity.
In the frame, George Lombard Jr.opened with a single, moved to second on a one-out knock from Anthony Volpe and then watched as Spencer Jones fouled out for the second out. But the lefty-hitting Wells — who batted .122 with a .436 OPS against southpaws this season — ripped a single through the right side of the infield and was fired up upon reaching first base after giving the Yankees...