New York Yankees at Philadelphia Phillies

PHILADELPHIA – Catchers are taught that their most important work appears outside the box score, responsible for guiding pitchers and controlling the running game. Austin Wells found some comfort there, but he has never stopped believing in his bat. Wells launched the longest home run of his career, an opposite-field blast that traveled a Statcast-projected 430 feet, and Jasson Domínguez also went deep in the Yankees’ 3-1 victory over the Phillies on Saturday at Citizens Bank Park. “I’m getting to a spot where I can see and recognize the ball and get myself into some better counts,” said Wells, adding, “The ball’s a little bigger right now.” The Yanks’ third consecutive win was tinged by concern for All-Star outfielder Cody Bellinger, who stroked a tiebreaking hit in the sixth inning but injured his left hamstring on an eighth-inning double. With the Aug. 3 Trade Deadline approaching, the Yankees are said to be in the market for an upgrade at catcher, plus bullpen help. General manager Brian Cashman recently said that he considered the team’s catching to be “an issue, clearly,” and multiple reports have identified the Twins’ Ryan Jeffers, the Reds’ Tyler Stephenson and the Rockies’ Hunter Goodman among their potential targets. It could be difficult for many players to block that out, but manager Aaron Boone said he believes Wells has done a nice job of handling the noise. “He knows he can hit, and he believes he’s a better hitter than he’s shown this year,” Boone said. “That’s tough to deal with. But he’s also mature enough and advanced enough in his career that he understands the importance of being behind that plate every single day, and your role in limiting runs.” What’s more, Boone has been seeing encouraging signs from Wells at the plate, beyond just his third-inning blast off Brian Keller. “I’m not making it up,” Boone said. “The last couple of weeks – obviously, the homer is great. That’s an on-time, aggressive swing. You see the power the other way. … Hopefully, this is him inching closer to being who he knows he can be.” A local delicacy may be to thank for Wells’ power display. Last season, Wells started a fun side project: an Instagram account (@wells.ranked.burritos) which he used to rank burritos in road cities. This weekend, a Phillies visiting clubhouse employee asked Wells why the account had gone dormant. Wells replied: “No one has made one good enough for me to put up there.” To entice Wells, the employee produced a cheesesteak burrito.