Better late than never.
Austin Wells came alive in the Yankees win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night, getting the Bombers on the board in the World Series and forcing Game 5 on Wednesday.
The backstop went 2-for-3 with a homer and a double in Game 4, a day after his postseason struggles landed him on the bench.
“Just felt like Austin — really hard to take him out from behind the plate as well as he’s doing back there but, but obviously, it’s been a tough stretch for him offensively,” said Boone before Game 3 of the World Series. So just feel like [the] game to kind of get a little more balanced in the lineup. Maybe it means a better leverage to bat for him later in the game. Just felt like Trevi[no] was the call tonight”
Wells entered the playoffs as the Yankees cleanup hitter, a role he thrived in as he owned a .760 OPS and provided balance between right-handed hitters Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. Boone removed the 26-year-old from the No. 4 spot in the ALCS and dropped him to the No. 8 hole as he entered Game 4 slashing .093/.152/.163 in 12 postseason games.
“I don’t know [what to make of Wells’ struggles],” said Boone. “Because I think he’s a really good hitter, and even through this, I’ve seen that in the at-bats. But just obviously not getting results. There’s more swing and miss in there than he had, so I don’t know and I really do still have confidence, even moving forward in this series, that he’s going to have the right at bat, a big at bat and a big spot, because that’s who he is. I feel like his DNA is. He’s a hitter, but he’s gone through a little bit.”
The skipper ended up being right as his double in the second led to the Bombers getting on the board and his solo shot in the sixth provided much-needed breathing room before they blew the game open in the eighth.
Wells cited a “screw it,” attitude after Monday’s loss propelling him to a breakout performance on Tuesday.
“[Monday] night I feel like all the pressure just kind of went away, for me at least personally,” said Wells. “We were down 3-0 and it was like I feel like the pressure is on them to win the last game. That gave me just kind of like that release of pressure there. But like pressure is something that I welcome. It’s good to have pressure. It means that we’re in a good spot and people are counting on you. So I enjoy the pressure.”
The odds are still stacked incredibly high against the Yankees as their Game 4 victory gave their season another life. However, if there is any chance at handing payback to Dave Roberts for the Yankees blowing a 3-0 deficit to the Boston Red Sox in the 2004 ALCS, they are going to need everybody to perform and Tuesday night was a step in the right direction for Wells.
