NY Yankees’ Austin Wells makes tough admission after costly baserunning blunder vs. Rays

Wednesday night proved to be a rollercoaster for the New York Yankees as they scraped by with a 5-4 win in 11 innings over the Tampa Bay Rays. The game was marked by multiple near-disasters and heroic moments, but one misstep in particular caught everyone’s attention — a costly baserunning blunder by catcher Austin Wells.

With the Yankees looking to clinch a late-inning victory, Wells found himself representing the winning run in the ninth inning after singling with one out remaining. The stage seemed set for a Yankees victory without extra innings, especially following Anthony Volpe’s clutch home run earlier in the inning.

However, the moment quickly turned sour. After a successful bunt by Trent Grisham advanced Wells to second base, the catcher inexplicably wandered off the bag, seemingly forgetting the number of outs. The Rays capitalized by catching Wells in a rundown, pushing the game into extra innings.

Following the game, Wells was candid about the mistake. “I was just being an idiot,” Wells admitted, according to Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News.

Aaron Boone’s reaction to Wells’ blunder

Even Yankees manager Aaron Boone was baffled by the gaffe. Boone revealed that first base coach Travis Chapman had clearly informed Wells about the number of outs before the play unfolded.

“I asked the same thing,” Boone said while reviewing the replay of the rundown. “That can’t happen.” The manager’s disbelief underscored the rare nature of such a costly mental error at a critical moment in the game.

Despite the blunder, the Yankees escaped unscathed thanks to timely hitting from their lineup, sparing Wells from further scrutiny. The team’s resilience proved critical in securing the hard-fought victory.

Yankees rally in extras to avoid defeat

The Yankees’ night was full of high drama. Devin Williams surrendered a go-ahead home run to Josh Lowe in the ninth inning, giving the Rays a 3-2 lead. But Volpe stepped up again with a game-tying homer to send the game into extras.

The Rays took the lead in the 10th inning via a sacrifice fly from Jonathan Aranda. However, Cody Bellinger’s clutch, run-scoring triple tied the game once more. Finally, recent trade acquisition Ryan McMahon delivered the walk-off single, sealing a tense win for New York.

This victory, despite the near-meltdown, highlighted the Yankees’ ability to overcome adversity — even when their own players momentarily faltered.