CLEVELAND — Austin Wells was in the lineup for the first time since Aug. 28, but not in the cleanup spot.
Before Game 4 of the ALCS against the Guardians, manager Aaron Boone said Wells had not been swinging in recent weeks, so he moved him to No. 8 and Jazz Chisholm Jr. became the No. 4 batter.
And in Wells' first at-bat in an 8-6 win that pushed the Yankees to the brink of their first World Series appearance since 2009, the struggling catcher hit his first home run of the postseason.
He also suffered a blunder, going 0-for-21, resulting in Wells losing Game 3 on Thursday and being replaced behind the plate by Jose Trevino.
“I've definitely felt less like myself over the past month,” Wells said. “but [Thursday] I felt like I made a lot of adjustments after the game that night and I noticed a few things from when I was feeling good. ”
So after his toughest loss of the season, Wells arrived at Progressive Field early and worked on modifying the way he approached swinging balls, as he felt exposed to pitches in the zone.
And if he was batting No. 8 in the batting order, so be it.
“It doesn't matter where you are in the lineup,” Wells said. “I just want to be in the lineup.”
Wells was just 2-for-26 at bat through Friday and hadn't hit a home run since Sept. 9.
He had two strikeouts late in the game, including in the top of the ninth inning.
“I feel like he missed some pitches.” [and] He swung through some pitches,” Aaron Boone said before the game. “He's usually a guy who puts the ball in play well while controlling the strike zone. He's probably swung and whiffed on some pitches where he had a chance to do something.”
The situation changed with two outs in the top of the second inning.
Juan Soto's two-run run gave the Yankees the lead in the first inning, and Cleveland responded with one run in the bottom of the inning, when Guardians right-hander Gavin Williams struck out Anthony Rizzo and Anthony Volpe to lead off the inning.
However, Wells hit Williams' four-seam fastball into the right-center seats.
His 407-foot home run made it 3-1.
Where Wells ends up in the lineup for Saturday's Game 5 is less important than him getting his swing back.
Boone said Wells “may just be a little tired” at this point in his rookie season, but the manager's faith in Wells remained unwavering.
“I have a lot of confidence in him as a hitter and his DNA as a hitter,” Boone said. “I think he's going to have a chance to make the best at-bats at the best moments. That's the type of hitter he is.”
