Yankees Austin Wells struggles in Game 3 after…
Austin Wells’ baserunning blunder in Game 1 of the ALDS understandably loomed over every little thing else he had achieved this postseason coming into Wednesday.
But in any other case, the Yankees catcher had spent the playoffs performing just like the participant the membership was banking on all along even after a largely brutal common season.
Entering Game 3 with the season on the road, Wells was 5-for-12 with two doubles, 4 RBIs and two sacrifice flies in 4 playoff video games, which earned him a soar up the lineup Wednesday against the Rays.
As half of a slight shakeup to his lineup, Aaron Boone batted Wells sixth, which he had only achieved one other time this season, matching the very best he has hit in the order this yr.
The transfer didn’t repay as Wells went 0-for-3 before being lifted for pinch hitter Giancarlo Stanton with a runner on and two outs in the eighth. Stanton, though, struck out as the Yankees headed for a 4-3, season-ending loss.
Wells had been a staple in the underside third of the lineup all season, including batting eighth or ninth in each of his 4 playoff video games before Wednesday.
But in addition to the outcomes, he had been placing together the type of robust at-bats that he’s succesful of but didn’t always show during a common season in which he hit .186 with a .624 OPS (a lot more of a menace in the second half than in the first).
Through all the offensive ups and downs, Wells has continued to deal with his pitching workers properly and earn their adoration.
A dejected Austin Wells heads back to the dugout after grounding into a double play in the fourth inning of the Yankees’ 4-3 season-ending loss to the Rays in Game 3 of their ALDS sequence on Oct. 7, 2026 in The Bronx. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
“I think when baseball players talk about pros’ pros and guys really handling their business, [there is] a lot of respect inside the room for how Austin has gone about it and how he’s really continued to get better throughout the regular season,” Gerrit Cole said earlier in the sequence.
Boone (*3*)also dropped Spencer Jones — the Yankees cleanup hitter in each of the prior three playoff video games — down to batting eighth in the lineup, the bottom he has hit against a right-hander since May 19 (dealing with Dylan Cease).
Jones entered Game 3 batting 2-for-15 with a stroll and seven strikeouts in the postseason. But he a good Game 3, going 1-for-2 with an RBI double, two walks and a run scored.
Before Game 3, a handful of Yankees took bunting follow against a pitching machine — one thing they’ve achieved from time to time this yr, but definitely not recurrently.
It got here as that they had mustered just two runs through the first two video games of the ALDS, both on solo home runs from Ben Rice.
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