With the Yankees off on Thursday, Maggie Newsom, a 16-year-old fan from Galway, New York, uploaded an old video of Austin Wells to her X account.
The clip, pulled from a TikTok that Wells shared in 2020, didn’t highlight his hitting or catching skills, but rather his talents on the dance floor. With a cameraman filming from a slow-moving vehicle, Wells showed off his moves as the Bag Raiders’ electronic “Shooting Stars” played in the background.
Austin Wells A+ catcher and tiktoker pic.twitter.com/xp8xCJCAWx
— Maggie (@maggie112199) August 29, 2024
It didn’t take long for the video of Wells, sporting a beard and ripped shirt, to go viral. By Friday, he found himself walking up to the same song at Yankee Stadium.
“I thought it was so funny and that there was no way this has not been found, so I posted it,” Newsom told The Daily News before adding that her father is obsessed with Wells. “I did not expect [Wells to use the song]. That’s crazy. I did not think it would resurface like that!”
The funky beat seemed to help Wells, as it preceded a two-run homer in the third inning. The dinger broke a 2-2 tie in the Yankees’ 6-3 win over the Cardinals.
Afterward, the Bombers’ own social media account poked fun at the TikTok.
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 31, 2024
Wells wasn’t done there, as he gave the Yankees some insurance runs with another two-run homer in the eighth inning. He didn’t walk up to “Shooting Stars” that time, but Yankees fans did cheer his name following the 413-foot blast.
The backstop, who now has 12 homers, had some help with the Yankees’ scoring efforts, as Anthony Volpe got them on the board with a sac fly in the second inning. Giancarlo Stanton scored from third on the play after leading the inning off with a 116.5-mph double.
The third inning also saw Juan Soto plate a run with a double of his own. He later heard “Re-sign Soto” chants for the second straight homestand after gunning a runner down at second base.
On the mound, Marcus Stroman overcame a rocky third inning that saw him allow four straight singles with two outs. Knocks from Brendan Donovan and Paul Goldschmidt gave St. Louis two runs, but Stroman didn’t allow the Cards to score after that.
The right-hander ultimately logged seven innings, nine hits, zero walks, five strikeouts and 98 pitches. It was his longest start since May 31, when he logged 7.1 innings.
Stroman endured a rough stretch between those seven-inning outings, recording a 6.32 ERA over 10 starts in between. The Yankees pushed him back to work on his mechanics after that 10th start.
That decision has yielded encouraging results, as the righty has a 2.35 ERA in four starts since.
“I’ve talked about his lower half being in a better place, mechanically speaking,” Aaron Boone said before Friday’s game. “And I think that’s lent itself to just crisper stuff and better command.”
Jake Cousins allowed a solo homer to Nolan Arenado in the eighth inning, but the Yankees improved to 79-56 with Stroman surging and Wells having fun with his virality.
Now the first-place team will look to lock down a series victory with Will Warren on the mound. The right-hander has struggled over his first four major league starts, posting a 9.68 ERA. However, the Yankees don’t have many healthy alternatives to the rookie right now.
Veteran righty Kyle Gibson is scheduled to start for St. Louis.
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