Aaron Boone stuck with Austin Wells in the cleanup spot despite the young catcher’s slump late in the season and Wells came through in the first postseason game of his career with a game-tying hit in the bottom of the sixth of a 6-5 win over the Royals in Game 1 of the ALDS in The Bronx.
“I felt pretty relaxed,” Wells said of his playoff debut. “I feel the crowd helped me relax.”
After Wells failed to deliver in the bottom of the first with runners on second and third and one out and then popped out to end the third, Wells walked against left-hander Angel Zerpa to extend the fifth inning, during which the Yankees scored a pair of runs.
Then came the sixth, which started with a leadoff walk from Alex Verdugo, who moved to second on Juan Soto’s one-out single to right.
After Aaron Judge whiffed in a big spot for the second time of the night, Wells came up and banged a hit to right off lefty Sam Long that scored Verdugo to tie the game.
On Friday, Boone spoke about why he opted to keep Wells in the No. 4 spot behind Soto and Judge, rather than put a more experienced hitter like Giancarlo Stanton there, even after Wells finished the regular season in a 4-for-48 rut in his final 15 games.
Boone said he thought his at-bats had improved, and he continued to be impressed with his “presence” at the plate.
On Saturday, Boone liked Wells’ approach against Zerpa, as well as long.
“Just long, ‘I’m not gonna chase’ at-bats,’’ Boone said of Wells’ success. “That’s why I love him in there.”
Wells agreed that he was on the verge of turning things around offensively.
“I’ve felt like the last week [of the season], my at-bats were a lot better,” Wells said. “I was back to myself, even without the hits.”
Wells has impressed for much of the season, even when he’s struggled, with lengthy, tough at-bats.
So while the production has sometimes dipped, he hasn’t typically made it easy on opposing pitchers.
Follow The Post’s coverage of the Yankees in the postseason:
He did swing at the first two pitches he saw Saturday, but walked against Zerna, who was unable to find the strike zone throughout a miserable three-batter appearance in which he gave up the hit to Soto and also walked Judge.
Wells was still grinding at the plate in the eighth, getting to a three-ball count before drawing another walk in the eighth.
He also was serviceable behind the plate on a night during which Gerrit Cole had nothing.
The speedy Royals didn’t attempt a stolen base.
“This is how he’s carried himself since Day 1,’’ catching instructor Tanner Swanson said. “Coming into this environment as a rookie, he’s never flinched.”
