Austin Wells drives in 4 as Yankees win doubleheader opener

NEW YORK – Aaron Judge is usually the man with the thunderous bat for the Yankees. On Saturday afternoon, he had three hits in an 8-0 victory over the Rangers in the first game of a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium, but New York’s cleanup hitter, Austin Wells, drove in a career-high four runs.

This was a game in which New York made Nathan Eovaldi work hard on the mound. By the time he left the game, Eovaldi had thrown 81 pitches (50 strikes) in three innings. The Yankees did most of their damage against the right-hander in the third inning. With runners on first and second and New York leading 1-0, Wells worked the count to 2-2 before doubling to right-center field, scoring Juan Soto and Judge to make it a 3-0 game.

An inning later, Eovaldi was out of the game, but the Yankees had their way with left-hander Brock Burke. After Judge hit an RBI double, Wells followed with a two-run single that drove in Alex Verdugo and Judge, making it a 6-0 game.

Since becoming the Yankees’ cleanup hitter on July 20 against the Rays, Wells is slashing .349/.419/.524 in 15 games.

Before the game ended, the Yankees scored two more runs, including Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s solo homer in the eighth, before winning their 69th game of the season.