24.1s069.WS-Wells.xml Austin Wells most important job of this postseason is what hes doing behind the plate. Austin Wells and Gerrit Cole during a September 2024 start. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post His offense, which has been inconsistent at times throughout his rookie season, has been underwhelming or worse in October. It helped land him on the bench in Game 3 of the ALCS against Cleveland and got him dropped from the cleanup spot to eighth in the lineup. But if the Yankees are going to beat the Dodgers to win their first World Series title since 2009, theyll have to continue to pitch well and Wells is a key part of that. And it will begin Friday in Game 1 in Los Angeles Explore More In 10 regular season starts with Wells behind the plate, Cole pitched to a 2.83 ERA, as opposed to Coles 4.91 ERA in six starts pitching to Jose Trevino. Wells, in turn, credited the Yankees ace whos been shaky in two of his three outings so far this postseason with helping him mature as a catcher in his first full season in the majors. Gerrits been great for me this Leicester City Jersey year, Wells said on a Zoom call from Yankee Stadium before the team left for Los Angeles on Wednesday. Well has not swung the bat well in the playoffs. AP Hes been able to allow me to really focus on the minute details you dont look at, Wells said of how Cole has impacted his approach to the game. Thats contributed to him being so succe sful in his career. That attention to detail has really helped me. From picking up Coles tics and body language and perhaps most importantly getting as many called strikes as po sible, Wells has also played a part in what the right-hander has done, even if its not up to his usual standard after returning from the elbow inflammation that sidelined Cole the first half of the season. You want to give a pitcher confidence that no matter what they throw, its gonna work and were gonna win the game, Wells said. Follow The Posts coverage of the Yankees in the postseason: Wells didnt catch Cole in a game before this season and Cole can be hard on his catchers as Ben Rortvedt found out in 2023, when cameras frequently caught Cole screaming and gesturing at the young catcher. Due in part to Wells emergence, Rortvedt ended up being traded during the spring to Tampa Bay as part of the three-team trade that landed the Yankees Jon Berti from Miami. After splitting time with the veteran Trevino for much of the first half, Wells emerged as the regular backstop in July and has stayed there. Wells has one homer this postseason. Jason Szenes / New York Post What is worrisome for Wells, though, is his lengthy slump at the plate. He closed the season in a 3-for-45 tailspin, with just a pair of doubles in his final 13 regular-season games. And hell enter the World Series 3-for-33 with a homer, three walks and 15 strikeouts in the postseason. Wells said he against Cleveland, when he homered, but he went hitle s with a walk and a strikeout in the Game 5 clincher. The i sue, he said again Wednesday, is that opposing teams are pitching him up in the zone and he hasnt been able to adjust. I just noticed I was a little underneath the ball and being pitched up in the zone a little bit exposed that, Wells said. It was the same trend toward the end of the season. Hes had a few more days to fix it before the Dodgers go after it and he tries to figure out how to get Cole through their lineup. Olympique Lyon Jersey