Austin Wells took extra batting practice on the field at Kauffman Stadium before Game 4 of the Finals between the Yankees and Royals, but unlike Giancarlo Stanton's extra practice the day before, Wells extended his no-hitter streak to 11 at-bats. Thursday night in the postseason in Kansas City.
However, his work behind the plate has been solid, earning him praise from teammates and coaches.
“He's very engaged and very aware,” Clay Holmes said Saturday from the stadium where the Yankees were training for Game 1 of the ALCS against Cleveland on Monday. “He knows what he wants and we have a lot of faith in him. I don't think anyone doubted that, but looking at how he's come through the games so far. , he was great, especially in the playoffs for the first time. Those environments aren't easy. There's a lot to juggle.”
Wells was hitless in 11 consecutive at-bats, and even though he whiffed five times, his defense was solid.
Regarding the ALDS game against the Royals, Wells said, “The level of batting has improved, and both teams have increased their focus on pitching.'' “So when you're calling pitches, they're going to stand at the plate and not give you anything. So you don't want to make a mistake from the first pitch.”
Wells pointed out that of the four games against the Royals, two were decided by one point and the other two were decided by just two points, leaving little room for error.
And although Gerrit Cole got off to a shaky start in the opening game, he bounced back in Game 4, but with the exception of Carlos Rodon giving up a run in the 4th inning in Game 2, the Yankees have pitched the best in this series. We got some great results from the team.
Wells played a major role in both receiving and calling pitches.
“The reason I love catch is because of the intellectual part of it and the competition,” Wells said. “I get to be on every pitch and help dictate how the game goes. So that made me love this higher level of baseball even more. It's exactly what I want to do.”
And he's done a lot of that.
He started all but two games since September 21 and finished the regular season by appearing in five of the final seven games of the regular season and all four games against Kansas City.
This is part of an increased workload since taking over his usual starting spot, rather than mostly platooning with Jose Trevino.
“I don't really know if it's weighing on me,” Wells said. “I just go out there and play how I feel. It was a lot of fun to have this experience in my first year here.”
Perhaps returning to the Bronx for Game 1 on Monday will help. That's because Wells acknowledged that the timing of road batting practice can make it difficult to work in the cage when the road team hits No. 2 and conflicts with defensive preparation.
But overall, there wasn't much that surprised Wells.
“I'm trying to prepare as best as I can for things I've never done before, like playing in the playoffs,” he said. “I look at this as just another game that we're trying to win. It's helped us not to worry too much about the different situations.”
