If Wednesday’s offensive disappointment was pinned on Ryan McMahon, who heard boos on a tough day throughout a tough begin, Austin Wells may need been the face of Thursday’s frustration.
What amounted to the Yankees’ greatest rally of the sport — placing two runners on base in the seventh inning, Giancarlo Stanton drawing a stroll and Ben Rice connecting for the membership’s first hit of the afternoon — ended with Wells flying out on a day the Yankees fell 1-0 to the A’s in The Bronx.
The whole bottom of the order is an early downside for the Yankees, however the struggles of Wells stand out in half as a result of he isn’t experimenting with a radically totally different stance (like McMahon) or serving as a fill-in till a reinforcement arrives (like José Caballero) or proudly owning a stellar monitor document that implies he’ll come round (like Jazz Chisholm Jr.).
Wells arrived in the majors a pair of years in the past with a fame as a robust hitter who wanted to work on his catching protection. He has emerged as a wonderful framer and game-caller, however his bat has solely flashed the sort of hitter he can become.
Those flashes haven’t appeared in the early going this season. Since tallying two hits on Opening Day, Wells has gone 3-for-27 with two singles, a double, 4 walks and 11 strikeouts.
In a reminder that the season continues to be in its infancy, Wells shrugged off the hunch and was pleased with the method that he feels will yield outcomes.
“I feel pretty good [at the plate],” mentioned Wells, who swung via a fastball for a strikeout in the third, grounded out in the fifth and made first rate contact together with his seventh-inning flyout. “Swinging at the right pitches. I’m just not getting much results. So, keep going.”
His supervisor, too, thought Wells’ swings had been enhancing even when they had been ending equally.
“A little better, actually. He’s been one of those guys struggling a little bit,” Aaron Boone mentioned after the Yankees had been shut out for the primary time this season. “The last AB there, where we had a couple runners on, I thought he put together a pretty good at-bat and got some good swings off.”
The Yankees are solely about 7 % of the best way into their season, and early April numbers usually are forgotten. Plus, the Yankees are usually successful and Wells’ thoughts and protection are important elements in the membership’s rotation excellence so far.
But the Yankees additionally constantly reward what J.C. Escarra can become and demand that Rice might be a serious league catcher. So if Wells doesn’t hit, there are different choices.
“I feel like there’s been some games where he’s had some quality at-bats,” Boone mentioned, “but obviously we got to get it more consistent, start getting some results. Obviously, he’s a guy that drives the ball as well.”
