{"id":2942,"date":"2024-09-22T06:47:52","date_gmt":"2024-09-22T06:47:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.drinkfood.info\/?p=2942"},"modified":"2024-09-22T06:47:52","modified_gmt":"2024-09-22T06:47:52","slug":"yankees-austin-wells-drawing-rave-reviews-for-work-behind-plate-just-gets-better","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.drinkfood.info\/?p=2942","title":{"rendered":"Yankees\u2019 Austin Wells drawing rave reviews for work behind plate: \u2018Just gets better\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Austin Wells\u2019 bat had cooled off some through the first three weeks of September.<\/p>\n

His work behind the plate had not.<\/p>\n

The Yankees rookie catcher drew rave reviews for his work with Gerrit Cole in Friday\u2019s\u00a010-inning win\u00a0over the A\u2019s, having a hand in helping the ace cruise through a nine-inning, two-hit gem at the Coliseum.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been great for us,\u201d Cole said before the\u00a0Yankees\u2019 10-0 blowout win over the A\u2019s\u00a0on Saturday night. \u201cHe came in with a good foundation already, and he just gets better and better the more he plays.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\"Austin<\/a><\/div>
Austin Wells (left) has impressed the Yankees with his improvements behind the plate.
\nCole is one of the game\u2019s best at reading hitters\u2019 swings and adjusting his plan of attack from there.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n

Veteran catcher Jose Trevino is also adept at the skill, which is part of why that battery has had so much success together.<\/p>\n

But Wells, who did not play in Saturday\u2019s win, has come into his own in that regard, an important development with his bat being so important to the Yankees lineup as their regular cleanup hitter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he was pretty talented at it,\u201d Cole said. \u201cBut look, we\u2019re trying to turn the lineup over four times. So the communication is important. I made an effort to up that, to make sure we\u2019re on the same page with pitches and we got multiple opinions on what we\u2019re seeing. Just makes it that much easier when you know the pitching coach and the catcher, everybody\u2019s convicted we\u2019re throwing this pitch, and that gives you the best chance to execute, whether you\u2019re right or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Almost every time Friday night, they were right, as Cole allowed just two singles and a walk across an efficient 99-pitch outing, his best of the year.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Gerrit<\/a><\/div>
Gerrit Cole threw a nine-inning gem for the Yankees on Friday.USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI thought they were excellent,\u201d manager Aaron Boone said, \u201cbecause I think a lot of what they did, they made some good adjustments in-game, reading swings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boone pointed to a key at-bat in the bottom of the ninth inning, with the score tied 1-1, as an example. Lawrence Butler took a big hack at a 1-0 fastball at the top of the zone and fouled it off, which Cole followed with a pair of changeups \u2014 he only threw five of them all night \u2014 to get Butler whiffing for his seventh strikeout.<\/p>\n