Austin Wells’ baserunning blunder costs Yankees in Division Series opener, a 1-0 loss to Rays

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Austin Wells got the New York Yankees’ first hit of the AL Division Series with two outs in the eighth inning of Saturday night’s opener, then ran through a stop sign and was thrown by a large margin trying to stretch a double into a triple.

“I was trying to make something happen,” the relatively slow-footed catcher said after a 1-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Drew Rasmussen retired 15 consecutive batters before Wells pulled an inside sinker into the right-field corner on his 101 pitch.

Yankees third base coach Luis Rojas held up both arms before Wells rounded second. Wells kept on going and was thrown out by about 15 feet on shortstop Taylor Walls’ relay to third baseman Junior Caminero of right fielder Victor Mesa Jr. ’s throw.

“Just obviously not a good decision there,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Not sure if he saw something on his way between first and second that, you know, caused him to go there. But, obviously, you know, a mistake there.”

If Wells had held at second, Boone would have sent up Giancarlo Stanton to pinch hit for Ryan McMahon, forcing Rays manager Kevin Cash to decide whether to bring in closer Bryan Baker.

“After I was passing second base I saw his hands up. Was already committed,” Wells said.

Tampa Bay’s defense executed perfectly.

“It takes one bobble there and I’m safe or a little off-line target there and I’m safe,” Wells said. “They made two big throws right on the money and got me.”

Wells ranked 481st in sprint speed this season at 26.0 feet per second among 567 batters with 10 or more opportunities, according to MLB Statcast.

“In the moment I was being aggressive. Like I said, we didn’t really have much going on there in the game, so every 90 feet matters,” Wells said. “You have to take risks but in that situation, obviously, the risk was wrong.”

Baker pitched a perfect ninth, finishing the one-hitter in the opener of the best-of-five series. The Yankees lost a 1-0 postseason game for the first time since Hall of Famer Don Drysdale’s three-hitter for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1963 World Series.

Cole returns to postseason after surgery

Gerrit Cole allowed five hits over five innings in his first postseason start since Tommy John surgery in March 2025. The 36-year-old right-hander, winner of the 2023 AL Cy Young Award, gave up Jonathan Aranda’s solo homer in the third inning on a changeup.

“Down and away,” Cole said. “It got to the edge, but it didn’t get down enough. It’s a pretty, pretty steep price to pay but he crushed it. So yeah, that’s just the way it goes.”

Stanton returns

Stanton’s plate appearance when he batted for McMahon against Baker leading off the ninth was his first since April 24 after he recovered from multiple calf injuries. In his first postseason pinch-hitting appearance, Stanton struck out on a foul tip of a 96.3 mph fastball.

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Weathers pitches out of bullpen

Left-hander Ryan Weathers made his first appearance since Aug. 22, recovered from a left forearm flexor strain.

In his first relief appearance since 2023, Weathers entered in the sixth and retired Liam Hicks, Chandler Simpson and Victor Mesa Jr. on groundouts to first base. He needed just nine pitches.

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See AP’s full MLB coverage here