Yankees Advance After Austin Wells‘ Clutch Steal in Game 2 Victory
BOSTON – Austin wells delivered a pivotal stolen base in the eighth inning of Wednesday’s 4-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox, propelling the New York Yankees too a 2-0 lead in the American League Division Series. The Yankees are now one win away from advancing to the AL Championship Series.
Wells, who had struggled offensively in recent postseason appearances, reached base with a sixth-inning single and then executed a crucial steal of second base with two outs. He subsequently scored the go-ahead run on a single by Giancarlo Stanton.
“I was kind of expecting him to steal,” said teammate Kyle Higashioka of Wells’ aggressive baserunning. “When it landed, I was waiting to look and see him scoring.”
The Game 2 performance marked a critically important turnaround for Wells, who had been mired in a postseason slump. Entering Wednesday, he was 5-for-50 with three extra-base hits, two walks, and 24 strikeouts in his previous 53 postseason plate appearances, posting a .435 postseason OPS – tied for 21st worst among the 878 players in MLB history with at least 50 playoff plate appearances.
Wells had gone hitless in Tuesday’s Game 1, with a pair of strikeouts. Prior to Wednesday,he had struggled since a promising start to the 2022 ALDS against Kansas City,where he recorded a hit,two walks,and two RBIs in Game 1. Last year, he was briefly benched during the World Series against the Dodgers due to his struggles.He responded with a double and a home run in Game 4 against Los Angeles.
On Wednesday, Wells went 2-for-4 with a walk against Boston right-hander Brayan Bello and ex-Met lefty Steven Matz.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone expressed confidence in Wells leading up to the game, noting he was swinging the bat better. Wednesday was only the second time in 16 playoff games that Wells did not strike out. Boone confirmed Wells will start again Thursday with Cam Schlittler on the mound for the decisive Game 3. his familiarity with the Yankees’ pitching staff has solidified his position as the starting catcher,even with the emergence of Ben Rice.