ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Luis Rojas raised his arms straight up to form the universal sign for “stop.” Stop signs are irrelevant, though, if they are not seen in time.
Austin Wells only picked up his third base coach when he had rounded second base and was “already committed,” he said, which turned the best moment of the Yankees’ night into the worst within seconds.
Wells broke up Drew Rasmussen’s no-hitter with two outs in the eighth, only to get thrown out trying to stretch a double into a triple in the type of mistake the Yankees simply cannot make in October, which helped lead to a 1-0 loss to the Rays in Game 1 of the ALDS at Tropicana Field.
Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays tags out Austin Wells of the Yankees at third base during the eighth inning in Game 1 of the ALDS at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, Saturday, October 3, 2026. Getty Images
“Just obviously not a good decision there,” manager Aaron Boone said of the overaggression from the normally heady Wells, who saw the Yankees lineup was inept against Rasmussen and tried to take a risk that backfired.
Entering the at-bat, Rasmussen had retired 23 Yankees and only let two reach base on walks. He had struck out 10. He was about as dominant as a pitcher can be. A one-run deficit, on the strength of a Jonathan Aranda home run, felt insurmountable.
Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero, left, tags out Yankees catcher Austin Wells as Wells tries to stretch his double into a triple during the eighth inning of Game 1 of the ALDS on Oct. 3, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. AP Photo/Chris O’Meara
And then Wells stepped up and provided life, energy and joy — for all of about 10 seconds.
The Yankees catcher blistered a rare Rasmussen miss, a sinker that cut across the middle of the plate, 107.8 mph down the right field line and kept it fair by maybe a foot. The ball pinballed from a wall in foul territory to another facing of the wall in fair territory.
“I thought it kicked off [the wall] more than it did,” said Wells, who may have underestimated the arm of right fielder Victor Mesa Jr.
The owner of one of the most potent cannons in the majors, Mesa threw a strike to cutoff man Taylor Walls, who did not even have to rush a throw to third: He threw, but did not fire, to third baseman Junior Caminero, who had plenty of time to tag Wells.
Baseball traditionalists will scoff at a player making the third out of an inning at third. Scouts will tell you not to test Mesa or a solid Rays defense.
Wells will tell you the Yankees lineup had done nothing all game, so he was going to try something different.
“Two outs there, trying to make something happen, be aggressive with not much going on in the game,” said Wells, who added that the biggest benefit to being on third rather than second would be scoring without question on a single, important especially at a ballpark with slick turf that helps singles reach the outfielders faster. “You have to take risks. But in that situation, obviously the risk was wrong.”
Wells remained on the dirt for a few seconds, and it would have been understandable if he dug a hole and remained there for the rest of a game in which the Yankees would not record a second hit.