Yankees notes: Austin Wells cleaning up at cleanup, Caitlin Clark meets Aaron Judge

NEW YORK — Austin Wells took several steps toward first base and discarded his bat with a light flip to the side. The New York Yankees’ catcher has been praised throughout his career for his work ethic, all but willing himself to become a serviceable defender despite limited physical ability. But if this was a fleeting moment of nonchalance, it was earned.

Wells had just knocked in two more RBIs to give him four on the day in the Yankees’ 8-0 drubbing of the Texas Rangers in Game 1 of Saturday’s doubleheader at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees fell, 9-4, in Game 2.

Wells’ fourth-inning single up the middle drove in Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, and it came after Wells hammered a two-run double in the previous inning to expand the Yankees’ lead to 3-0.

He finished the game 2-for-5 — and he gave manager Aaron Boone every reason to believe he’s finally found the team’s cleanup hitter for the rest of the season.

“It’s worked out so far,” said Wells, who struck out swinging in his pinch-hit at-bat in Game 2.

“He’s now a big part of the middle of the lineup,” Boone said.

Wells’ bat helped starting pitcher Carlos Rodón, who threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out six while working around five walks.

Boone put Wells into the No. 4 spot on July 20. In 16 games since then, he’s hit .344 (22-for-64) with 13 RBIs.

Well, Well, Wells 👨🏻 pic.twitter.com/A2i5eCmlSM

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 10, 2024

Overall, he’s raised his batting average to .251 with an impressive .346 on-base percentage and .762 OPS. He also has eight home runs. Going into Saturday, Wells was ranked fourth among catchers in fWAR at 2.7 but over just 77 games, behind only the San Francisco Giants’ Patrick Bailey (3.7 fWAR, 89 games), the Milwaukee Brewers’ William Contreras (3.3 fWAR, 111 games) and the Seattle Mariners’ Cal Raleigh (3.2 fWAR, 111 games).

Giancarlo Stanton had filled the role of hitting cleanup admirably for much of the season. But when he suffered a left hamstring strain and hit the injured list on June 23, the Yankees’ offense began to flounder, especially in the fourth spot where they tried out Alex Verdugo, J.D. Davis and Ben Rice to various degrees of mostly failure.

Wells said he’s appreciated the opportunity to hit behind Soto and Judge and that it’s actually helped him.

“They see a lot of pitches, so I get to see them as well,” Wells said. “And them going up there with a lot of confidence gives me even more confidence to go up there and try to do the same thing they’re doing. And, I think, for me there was a little bit of an adjustment of not trying to hit the ball 500 feet like they do.”

The move hasn’t just been a boon to the Yankees. It’s helped Wells, who hit just .216 with a .697 OPS through his first 62 games. While Wells’ at-bats appeared solid — evidenced by his .320 OBP over the span — the results could have been discouraging.

“You guys see the bat come around,” Rodón said of Wells, whom the Yankees drafted in the first round in 2020. “Defensively, he’s been outstanding since he’s been here, now you’re seeing what the Yankees had seen in him with the bat.”

“The hitting side,” Boone said, “which we all expected was going to be his calling card — it’s carrying him. Took a minute at this level to get going. Hit into some tough luck early. But just the quality of at-bat just continues with him.”

Caitlin Clark in pinstripes

Before Game 1, Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark appeared on the field. Clad in a No. 22 Yankees home jersey and a matching cap, she posed for pictures near the team’s dugout before getting a tour of the clubhouse where she met Aaron Judge, Boone and others.

“Really cool,” Boone said. “She was impressive. Got to meet her in my office. … When she left, you were like, ‘Man, she’s pretty impressive.’ It was just fun to see the amount of our guys that were kind of just starstruck being around her.”

Thanks for stopping by @yankeestadium, @CaitlinClark22 🙌 pic.twitter.com/gBDVr2hKvG

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 10, 2024

Which Yankees player did Clark most want to meet?

“Aaron Judge, but I’m sure everybody says that,” she said on the YES Network broadcast. “… He’s way bigger than even people think. You know he’s big, but when you get next to him, it’s like, ‘Oh, my gosh. He could probably play football or just about any sport he wants to.’ … He’s a good guy, down to earth.”

Boone pulled ace Gerrit Cole after 90 pitches and 5 1/3 innings in Game 2. Cole had started the sixth inning needing just two pitches to dispatch Wyatt Langford, and his night ended with 10 strikeouts, two walks and six hits. That was when Boone brought in Luke Weaver, who had been so good all year but immediately imploded, giving up five earned runs.

Boone said that he was being careful with Cole, who had been scratched from his July 30 start with general body fatigue but then pitched several days later. Cole had also been dealing with a stomach virus.

“We were going to be pretty strict tonight and today, and with what he’s been through, encouraging to see him go out and throw the ball the way he did today again,” Boone said.

After the defeat, Cole was 3-2 and his ERA had dropped to 4.70 in nine starts.

Cole said he’s still trying to find that blend of high-level performance and durability this season.

“It’s about stacking them up start after start, bringing out similar weapons start after start,” he said, “We’ve certainly had flashes this year of what it’s supposed to look like and then maybe had a little bit of a letdown in a following start or something. Looking to bridge that consistency from one to the next.”

(Photo of Austin Wells: John Jones / USA Today)