Yankees Complete Another Sweep of Royals

Sure wish the Yankees could play the Royals about 50 times a year. For the second time this year, they swept Kansas City to finish 6-0 in the season series, and Austin Wells had a big part in the first two wins as he has begun to hit, something we’ve all been waiting for. Lets get to it. 

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I’ll be the first to admit that I probably expect too much from several Yankees, and one name that jumps immediately to mind is third-year catcher Austin Wells.

He was the team’s first-round pick (No. 28 overall) in the 2020 draft out of the University of Arizona where he was a tremendous hitter with a .357 average and 1.035 OPS is in two college seasons. And then as his minor league journey began after the 2020 season was wiped out by the pandemic, Wells hit at every level as he had a slash line of .260/.370/.476 for an OPS of .845 in 291 games.

But things have been vastly different in the two-plus years he’s been up with the Yankees and the bat just hasn’t been that impactful. He has certainly had some hot stretches and big moments like any hitter does, but the consistency is nowhere near what it was in the minors when he was considered one of the best hitting catchers in the land.

This season was following a similar path and Wells ended May with an ugly slash line: .210/.274/.444 for an OPS of .720. However, in his first eight games of June, his numbers have been much better and in that span he’s at .333/.400/.667 for an OPS of 1.067 thanks to two homers, three doubles and 10 RBI.

That improvement has hiked his average to .228 and his on-base to .293, both of which remain sub-standard, but he’s been providing impressive power. He now has 11 homers, 12 doubles and 42 RBI which is second on the team behind Aaron Judge’s AL-leading 59, and he’s slugging .476 with a .769 OPS which are both very respectable.

“I think he can really hit,” Aaron Boone said. “If that shows up in average, if it shows up in some power and on-base, I think he’s going to be a productive major league hitter, especially when you consider it’s at the catcher position. He’s capable of a lot offensively. I still think he’s just tapping into some of his stuff and still gaining experience, but he’s a talented offensive player.”

He had four hits in the first two games against the Red Sox, one of which was a pretty stunning three-run homer off Boston ace lefty Garrett Crochet in the Saturday game where the Yankees blew the 3-1 lead he provided them in the second inning. In Kansas City he put together two incredible at bats Tuesday night and the result was a three-run homer and a two-run double giving him a career-high tying five RBI, and Wednesday he had an RBI double.

“I mean, I’d like to see some more balls fall and find some grass,” Wells told the New York Post’s Greg Joyce Wednesday. “I’m not satisfied with where I’m at, but we’re winning and that’s good. I’d like to contribute more.”

In that interview he admitted that the demands of playing catcher, and trying to become the best defensive player he can be while also managing every game he’s back there for the pitcher has hindered his hitting.

“I think being prepared for each at-bat is a little bit more difficult,” he said. “Because there’s a couple of at-bats not even during the week, but during the game sometimes, where I have to focus a little extra hard before going on deck or even in the middle of the at-bat and be like, ‘What am I trying to do here?’ Just because I’m thinking about what pitches we’re throwing, we’ve thrown to the guys coming up to the plate the next inning or what reliever’s coming in and what I want to do to get ahead.

“So definitely trying to find a spot where I can separate that a little bit better and I think that’ll help me going forward. But I’ve been working on it a little bit more the last couple weeks, so I feel like I’ve been doing a little bit better than that.”

Wells has been a solid receiver as he’s one of the best pitch framers in MLB, though his arm has not been very good and his pitch blocking is still lagging in the average range. Equally important, he has a nice rapport with the pitchers and they trust him to call a good game. The bat needs to keep coming around before he can start being talked about as one of the best all-around catchers in the game, but he’s making progress and that’s good to see.

While I’m on the topic of catching, things could get interesting very soon behind Wells.

JC Escarra caught Thursday as Wells got a night off, but the feel-good rookie’s playing time could really take a hit pretty soon. With Giancarlo Stanton getting close to returning to the team, Boone revealed that he’s going to consider using Ben Rice at catcher in addition to first base and DH in an effort to keep giving him regular at bats.

As the primary DH thus far, Rice has produced solid numbers, even with some really tough ball in play luck. He’s been hitting the ball hard all season and not always getting rewarded for it, and Boone does not want to put his bat into dry dock, not when he has 12 homers, 26 RBI and an .810 OPS despite so many line drives and hard grounders being hit right at fielders.

Rice will lose most of his DH at-bats to Stanton, and Paul Goldschmidt will continue to get the bulk of the starts at first, so Boone is hoping that Rice can prove he can catch full games. He’s had a few late-game cameos including the final two innings in the Tuesday blowout win and Boone thought he did very well.

“I’ll say with Benny, Benny’s not just a really good hitter that, ‘Oh by the way, he can catch, too,” Boone said. “This is a skilled catcher. He has demonstrated in his minor league career, this is a really good receiver. Just the role hasn’t been there yet here for him to do it, but I was really pleased with what I saw from him, albeit in just a couple innings.”

I don’t think Escarra will get sent to the minors right away because he’s still a superior defender to Rice, but if Rice can handle the position that he played coming up through the system, Escarra could be heading to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

June 10: Yankees 10, Royals 2

➤ Wells was the man of the match in the opener, though it was Judge who stole the headlines with his mammoth 469-foot home run in the top of the first that nearly left Kaufman Stadium. That was noteworthy because it came off Royals rookie starter Noah Cameron who, in his first five career MLB starts had a 0.85 ERA. By the time Cameron exited with two outs in the sixth, he had struck out Judge twice, but he had also allowed six runs on seven hits and his ERA jumped to 2.17.

➤ The big moment came in the fourth when, with two outs, Jasson Dominguez and DJ LeMahieu singled, and Wells worked a nine-pitch at bat where he fouled off some tough pitches to stay alive before crushing his three-run homer to make it 5-1. And then in sixth, with men on first and third and two outs, Wells battled reliever Taylor Clarke for 10 pitches before lining a two-run double down the right-field line to make it 7-1. The Yankees then tacked on three more on consecutive RBI singles by Trent Grisham, Judge and Cody Bellinger, the hit for Bellinger the 1,000th of his career.

➤ Max Fried said thanks, but he didn’t need that much run support. He gave an RBI groundout to Royals rookie sensation Joc Caglianone in the second in the kid’s first at bat at home, and then he got tagged for a solo homer by Jonathan India. He completed seven innings with six hits and no walks. He is the very definition of a stopper because this was the eighth time he has taken the mound following a Yankees loss, the Yankees have won every game, and Fried is 7-0 with a 0.83 ERA.

What they said in Tuesday’s clubhouse

• Fried: “We’ve got an extremely explosive offense and they had really good at-bats all day. When you put up 10 runs, it makes my job easier just going out there and trying to get as many outs as I can.”

• Boone on Wells: “Just a lot of good throughout the lineup. Then when your No. 9 hitter tonight in Wells does that, that’s when you know you’ve got a deep lineup. That’s what these guys are capable of.”

June 11: Yankees 6, Royals 3

➤ The Yankees beat the Royals for the fifth consecutive time this year and it was another snoozer, at least until a sloppy ninth inning which made things way more interesting than they should have been.

➤ Up and down Clarke Schmidt was way up in this game as he threw six scoreless innings allowing two hits and three walks while striking out seven. He had everything in his arsenal working and you could tell he was fooling the Royals because they took 16 strikes.

➤ The Yankees had a tough task facing Royals starter Kris Bubic as the lefty came into the night with the best ERA among all starters in MLB at 1.43. Well, that figure is now 1.92 because the Yankees gouged him for five runs in the second inning. Bellinger led off with a triple, Jazz Chisholm walked and Volpe had an RBI groundout. Bubic retired Grisham for the second out, and then it all came apart. In succession, LeMahieu walked, Wells had an RBI double, Goldschmidt had a two-run single, Rice had an RBI single, and Judge walked before Bellinger finally made the final out of the inning.

➤ Judge crushed his 25th homer in the seventh, and all that was left was to see if the Yankees could complete the shutout. Brent Headrick and Fernando Cruz did their part, and then Mark Leiter imploded once again in the ninth. He gave up three runs (two earned) on four hits, and Boone had to call on Devin Williams to save the game, which he did, retiring two men on eight pitches.

➤ In that ninth inning, Vinnie Pasquantino hit a pop between the mound and third base which no one caught. Oswald Peraza was shifted over toward short so he came running in, but the ball was clearly one that Wells should have taken charge on. Then again, Leiter was like five feet away but you know how teams hate to have their pitchers catch pop flies which is so beyond stupid to me. Salvador Perez followed with a two-run homer. Then Nick Loftin singled, and John Rave hit a tapper to the same place where Pasquantino’s pop landed. Leiter fielded it and threw it into right field as another run scored. Leiter has been good all year, but when he has a bad night, it’s really bad. He now has pitched in 31 games and 25 have been scoreless, but he has had games where he allowed 3, 4 and 3 runs and that’s why his ERA is 4.00.

What they said in Wednesday’s clubhouse

• Schmidt: “I think every time I go out there, I’m getting stronger and stronger as far as pitch mix and more confident in who I am as a pitcher. It’s a constant tinkering process and figuring out who you are. I think we’re doing a good job of that. Obviously, I feel confident in all my pitches right now. I think it’s just being more OK with not having to throw certain pitches in certain counts that I typically would. And not being scared to be on the attack and throw all of my pitches in all counts.”

• Bellinger: “I just think our lineup is really good and really deep. It’s a lot of unselfish at-bats. We’re all getting ready for the next guy. Try to do your job, get on base and the next guy will take care of it. We’re doing a really good job right now.”

June 12: Yankees 1, Royals 0

➤ Hey, Pablo Reyes isn’t so useless after all. The little-used infielder who could lose his roster spot when Stanton returns was the key player as the Yankees finished off the sweep and captured their fourth 1-0 victory of the season, their most such wins in a single season since 1976.

➤ In a scoreless game, Reyes led off the eighth with a single against Royals dominant reliever Lucas Erceg who was making his first appearance in about three weeks after a stint on the IL. Erceg whiffed Judge who did not start for the first time this season and was in to pinch hit for Oswald Peraza. Grisham then grounded out, but Rice kept the inning alive with a walk. Goldschmidt then hit a liner to first that went off Pasquantino’s glove and caromed behind him. Reyes was running on contact with two outs and was waived home as Pasquantino retrieved the ball and threw to Erceg covering first trying to get Goldschmidt who beat it out. Reyes stumbled halfway to the plate, started to go back to third, then realized he could still make it. He was actually wrong because if Erceg had made a good throw to the plate, he was probably dead, but Erceg hesitated and took a few steps toward the plate before making a low throw that catcher Freddy Fermin could not handle and the Yankees had the only run they needed.

➤ Reyes also made a sparkling play at second base in the seventh, right after Volpe had made a tremendous play from deep in the hole at short.

➤ Will Warren capped an outstanding series for the rotation as he threw 5.2 scoreless innings allowing four hits and a walk with four strikeouts. The bullpen then covered the final 10 outs excellent 1-2-3 innings from Jonathan Loaisiga and Williams to close the game.

➤ The Yankees’ starters combined to throw 18.2 innings and allowed just two runs, both of those by Fried. Meanwhile, the Royals had a brutal series at the plate. They scored in just three of the 27 innings, managed only five runs on 22 hits, and superstar Bobby Witt went 1-for-11.

➤ Jazz Chisholm did not play. He left the first game after he banged his head into the knee of third baseman Maikel Garcia, and he left the second game with a groin issue which he doesn’t think is serious. Of course, he said that about his last injury and he missed a month, so we’ll see what develops.

➤ Jake Cousins had a setback in his rehab from an elbow injury, so forget about him joining the bullpen for a little while. Brent Headrick was sent down and oft-injured Scott Effross was called up. I expect nothing from this guy who has been nothing but hurt since the Yankees acquired him way back in 2022. And at Triple-A so far this season his ERA is 12.71 in five appearances.

What they said in Thursday’s clubhouse

Boone: “I saw Pablo stop halfway and then I was like, ‘Oh, no.’ And then we’re still able to score, so, whew, we’ll take it. Really happy for him. He’s a good player and he can swing the bat, he just hasn’t gotten the opportunities just because guys have been healthy and I’ve leaned on Peraza as that backup with the infield,”

Reyes: “There is a little bit of panic because it’s later in the game, it’s the eighth inning and you definitely want to score there. When you lose your balance, now you’re thinking, ‘OK, I got to get to a base and be safe and give us another chance.’ With another opportunity, somebody is going to come up and hopefully bring me in. So that’s what you think, and the (reason for my) reaction there, but the play developed the way it did.”

It’s on to Fenway Park for the first time this season, and the Yankees will be looking to get some revenge after dropping the first series of the year between the old rivals last weekend. This is a Boston team that has scuffled but has won five of its last seven and right now is starting to hit the shit out of the ball. If it can get some better work from the pitching staff, this is not a team that will be going away, and as we know, the Red Sox always give the Yankees fits.

Here are some of the Red Sox top players to watch:

➤ DH Rafael Devers: It never ends with Devers as he continues to be one of the most destructive opponents the Yankees have ever faced as he now has 30 career HRs and an .884 OPS against them.

➤ SS Trevor Story: He entered the first series against the Yankees hitting .214 but since then he’s 9-for-23 with two homers and eight RBI, much of that against the Yankees.

➤ 1B Abraham Toro: Another guy who did damage last weekend and somehow the career .228 hitter is batting .330 in his first season with Boston.

➤ RF Roman Anthony: The No. 1 prospect in MLB was called up Monday and in his first three MLB games he has struggled, 1-for-12, but he does have three RBI.

➤ RP Aroldis Chapman: He has a 1.59 ERA and it was pretty sickening watching him close out both Boston wins in dominating fashion at Yankee Stadium.

The pitching matchups are scheduled to be:

• Friday, 7:10, YES: Ryan Yarbrough (4.17 ERA) vs. Garrett Crochet (2.35), the ace of the staff who in his start last week against the Yankees allowed a season-high five runs.

• Saturday, 7:15, FOX: Carlos Rodon (2.87) vs. Hunter Dobbins (4.20), the rookie with the big mouth who grew up a Red Sox fan and said last week if the Yankees were the only team left to offer him a contract, he’d rather retire.

• Sunday, 1:35, YES: Max Fried (1.84) vs. Brayan Bello (3.96) who, a couple years ago was considered the future ace of the staff but it hasn’t quite worked out that way for him.