Wells' three-run homer helps Yanks beat Royals, gain on Orioles (2024)

In the Bronx, the rookies haze you.

On the same day the Yankees gave their fan base a thrill by finally calling up Jasson Dominguez, it was another rookie, Austin Wells, who made sure the Martian’s Bronx landing would bea memorable one.

Wells’ three-run homer in the seventh inning helped erase a series of defensive miscuesas the Yankees came backto defeat the Royals, 10-4, at Yankee Stadium. As for Dominguez, he played centerfield, batted sixth, singledand manufactured the Yankees’ first run of the game.

With Kansas City leading 4-3 in the seventh, Gleyber Torres singled off reliever James McArthur. Juan Soto walkedand Aaron Judge tied the score by liningasingle to left forhis 126th RBI. That brought up Wells, who pulled a knee-high fastball 404 feet to right-center for his 13th homer and a7-4 lead.Wells, who went 2-for-5, added an RBI double off the left-centerfield wall in a three-run eighth as the AL East-leading Yankees moved 1 1/2 games ahead of Baltimore.

That helped ease the sting of the Yankees’ continued defensive deficiencies, as two errors and a fielding miscue gavethe Royals two runs.The Yankees came into the day with a .983 fielding percentage, tied with the White Sox for second-worst in the AL.

An unearned runand a solo homer by Salvador Perez (4-for-4, three RBIs) off Carlos Rodon in the third gavethe Royalsa 2-0 lead before Dominguez made his mark eight days after the Yankees declined to promote him during their Sept. 1 call-ups.

Dominguez singled in the fourth, moved to second on a groundout and stole third with two outs, and whenPerez’s throwwent over Maikel Garcia’s head, the Yankees moved within 2-1.Brady Singer then walked Oswaldo Cabrera and Alex Verdugo —whose playing time will be challenged by Dominguez’s arrival —blasted a 2-and-1 slider 374 feet to right-center to give the Yankees a3-2 lead.

Verdugo was in the lineup as the Yankees opted to rest Giancarlo Stanton and use Judge as the DH. Aaron Boone said they’ll continue to “mix and match” and called the roster “a living, breathing organism every day that’s always evolving.” He added that most days, Judge and Stanton will retain their spots in centerfield and at DH, which, by all calculations, makes Verdugo the odd man out. (Verdugo, though, is on an offensive upswing, has hit safely in 13 of his last 15 gamesand was 2-for-4 Monday.)

Previously, general manager Brian Cashman said that before calling up Dominguez, the clubwanted to ensure that the switch hitterwould get regular playing time. It was something Cashman didn’t think could be the case as recently as Friday.

“If he comes, he’s got to play,” Cashman said then. “He’s not going to come here and just sit.”

Sonow the plan is to pretty much play Dominguez every day?

“Jasson’s going to play a lot,” Boone said, grinning. “It’s all hands on deck.”

The Yankees led 3-2 in the fifth when their defense bit them again. After a two-out single by Bobby Witt Jr., Perez hit a fly ball to shallow rightfield. The overshifted Torres had to go a long way for the ball and overran it,Juan Soto, who had a better angle on it, didn’t call him off, and it fell in for a hit,chasing the speedy Witt home from first with the tying run. Hunter Renfroe’s solo homer gave the Royals a4-3 lead in the sixth.

That was OK, though, because it turns out the Royals were no match for the Yankees' youth movementor Wells’ increasingly valuable offense. This team will be even more dangerous if Dominguez lives up to his potential.

“I’ve been a huge fan ever since I met him,” Boone said. “I just love his makeup, his talent. He has earned this opportunity now . . . He’s been playing really well now for a few weeks and, I feel like, stringing together some of his best baseball here.”

Fans have clamored for Dominguez’s return after a very memorable MLB debut last season: He was called up on Sept. 1, homered off future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander in his first at-bat and wound up with four home runs in eight games. He had a .258/.303/.677 slash line before injuring his UCL on Sept. 9 and having Tommy John surgery.

Dominguez began this year on the 60-day injured list, started his rehab assignment in early June and suffered a significant oblique strain less than two weeks later. He resumed play in late July, and in 44 Triple-A games, he had a .309/.368/.480 slash line, seven homers, 25 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. Three of those homers have come in his last eight games, a span in which he’s gone 11-for-32 (.344).

“I think as much as anything, it’s just continuing to build on the momentum that he’s built over the last few weeks, where we feel like really starting to be at the peak of the season and playing at a really high level,” Boone said. “He’s been knocking at that door, and now seemed like the time to bring him up.”