WELLS PLAYS HERO, BOONE’S OFFENSE PLAYS DEAD

The Yankees lost Game 1 to Tampa Bay, 1-0, wasting five innings of one-run pitching from Gerrit Cole. Jonathan Aranda’s third-inning homer supplied all the scoring. Drew Rasmussen supplied the humiliation: eight innings, 10 strikeouts and one lousy hit.

Then Austin Wells decided he was trying to be a hero. With two outs in the eighth, he finally broke up the no-hitter—and promptly got thrown out stretching a double into a triple. He saw Luis Rojas’ stop signal after passing second and kept going. Congratulations: you rescued the Yankees from one embarrassment and drove them straight into another. Stay at second and give the next hitter a chance. That’s October baseball, not an audition for a highlight reel.

And Aaron Boone deserves scrutiny, too. He stacked the lineup with eight left-handed hitters, and Rasmussen carved it up. The supposed matchup advantage produced 23 swings and misses. At some point, having right-handed alternatives means actually considering a different look while there are still outs to work with.

Then Boone chose Giancarlo Stanton to pinch-hit for Ryan McMahon leading off the ninth—Stanton’s first plate appearance since April 24. He struck out. I understand betting on his October power, but asking a guy sidelined for five months to rescue a one-run playoff game is a hell of a gamble. Boone afterward said he liked the at-bat. Wonderful. Put that on the scoreboard.

Monday’s Game 2 has Cam Schlittler lined up to start. The Yankees need to give him actual run support and bring this series home tied. Expect pressure immediately: another loss means facing elimination in Game 3.

Boone needs better answers. Wells needs better judgment. And this lineup needs to remember that beating Boston didn’t finish the job.