The Yankees might need a cleanup at the cleanup spot.
Austin Wells’ rough October didn’t get any better Tuesday, as he went hitless again and is now in an 0-for-19 drought in the postseason after Tuesday’s 6-3 win in Game 2 of the ALCS against Cleveland.
And he has nine strikeouts during that stretch.
Now that Anthony Rizzo is healthy-ish and has looked good at the plate in two games back after being sidelined for 16 days with two fractured fingers on his right hand, and another left-handed bat, Jazz Chisholm Jr., added a double, Boone will at least have to think about moving one of them up — or the lefty-swinging Wells down — in the order.
It was a topic that was broached before Wells’ latest rough night at the plate.
“I’m always considering stuff, but I didn’t really consider that for today,’’ Boone said of bumping Wells down. “I feel like, even as Austin has gone through some struggles offensively, he’s still had some really big moments over the last month and some key spots. I still feel like that’s in there for him and hopefully he kind of can get hot here too for a few weeks for us, which would be outstanding.”
That seems less likely as his slump intensifies.
Still, the Yankees had hardly missed a beat without almost any production from Wells and the guy in front of him in the order, Aaron Judge.
Before Tuesday, the third and fourth hitters in the lineup were a combined 4-for-35 with one extra-base hit, eight walks and 14 strikeouts.
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Judge obviously wasn’t going anywhere, but Boone said he also still had faith in Wells.
“I think he’s for several weeks now not swung it as [well] as he was there for that two-month stretch where, man, he was [great],’’ Boone said of the rookie catcher. “But I also don’t feel like he’s that far off either.’’
Perhaps Rizzo’s lack of power since his return from a fractured right forearm in early September played a role, but he has hit the ball hard in the ALCS.
That’s something Wells hasn’t done much lately, and the Yankees aren’t going to be able to smack around the AL Central all the way to a title, so they will almost certainly need more production from someone in the four-hole.
