Austin Wells did not start behind the plate Sunday afternoon as the New York Yankees tried to stretch their winning streak to nine games against the Houston Astros. J.C. Escarra got the nod at catcher instead, while the Yankees also kept Giancarlo Stanton out of the lineup as he was being evaluated for right calf tightness.
The rest decision came one day after Wells delivered another key swing. He hit the go-ahead homer in the seventh inning Saturday night, then added an RBI single in the ninth and finished with two RBIs as the Yankees kept rolling. Through Saturday, Wells had more walks than strikeouts on the season, a sign of how steady he has been at the plate even as the Yankees managed his workload.
New York entered the series finale at 18-9 and riding eight straight wins, with opponents outscored 48-14 during the run. The Yankees had not won nine consecutive games since early 2022, so Sunday carried a chance to match a mark that had not been reached in more than two years. Luis Gil started for New York after turning in his strongest performance of the year in his last outing against Boston, and Houston countered with right-hander Spencer Arrighetti.
The bigger backdrop for the Yankees has been a rotation that has taken pressure off the lineup. New York's starters had allowed two or fewer runs in each of their last eight starts, giving up seven earned runs across 54 innings in that stretch. That kind of pitching support has let the club ease into a rhythm, but the absence of Stanton showed there is still some uncertainty in the everyday order. The Yankees were expected to make a decision on his injured list status in the coming days.
For Wells, the day off did not erase the reason he had become part of the conversation in the first place. His bat helped decide Saturday's game, and his place in the lineup has become part of a team chase that is suddenly chasing history as much as another win.
