OAKLAND, Calif. — Austin Wells' hitting had slowed a bit through the first three weeks of September.
His job as a catcher was not like that.
The Yankees rookie catcher drew rave reviews after linking up with Gerrit Cole in Friday's win over the Athletics (4-2 in 10 innings) and helping the ace catcher easily pitch just two hits in nine innings at the Coliseum.
“He's been great for us,” Cole said. “He came in with a good foundation already, but the more he plays the better he's only going to get.”
Cole has one of the best abilities in the game to read a hitter's swing and then tailor his plan of attack from there — a skill that veteran catcher Jose Trevino also excels at, which is one of the reasons the battery has been so successful together.
But Wells has come into his own in that regard, and the fact that he now has a vital bat as the Yankees' regular cleanup hitter is a significant step forward.
“I thought he was pretty talented,” Cole said, “but we're going to rotate the lineup four times, so communication is key. I've tried to ramp up communication so that we're all on the same page about the pitch and getting multiple opinions on what we're seeing. If we know the pitching coach and the catcher, everyone is confident in this pitch and whether it's right or not, it gives us the best chance to make it.”
On Friday night, those predictions were almost always correct, as Cole threw an efficient 99 pitches, allowing just two singles and one walk, his best performance of the year.
“I thought they did a great job,” manager Aaron Boone said. “I thought they read the swings and made some good adjustments during the game.”
Boone gave the example of a key at-bat in the bottom of the ninth with the score tied at 1-1. Lawrence Butler took a swing at a 1-0 fastball high in the zone and fouled it off. Cole then threw two changeups and struck Butler out swinging. Cole had only thrown five changeups that night.
“Gerrit did a good job of communicating his feelings to me, which allowed me to try to give him the best opportunity to be successful,” Wells said.
Coach Cole demands a lot from his catchers, and for good reason, and Wells has lived up to those expectations.
He never caught for the Cy Young Award winner during his first major league tryout last September, but Friday marked the ninth meeting between the two teams, in which Cole posted a 3.19 ERA.
While game-calling ability is difficult to gauge, Wells is rated as the third-best pitch framer in the major leagues (catcher framing runs 11 times, Baseball Savant) and was third among catchers in Fielding Run Value, a combination of blocking, framing and throwing.
At the plate, Wells has been one of the Yankees' best players all season, but has barely made an impact since the start of September.
Through his last 15 games before Saturday, he was 7-for-52 (.135) with a .438 OPS, 19 strikeouts and one home run, including a memorable game-winning grand slam against the Royals.
But even when Wells finds himself in these situations offensively, he is still able to impact the game from behind the catcher.
“If you want to be a catcher in this league, you better be,” Boone said. “If you want to be a winning catcher, a championship-level catcher, your first job is to get behind the catcher. So he's got all of that, he's ready for it and he's done all of that.”
