ANAHEIM -- In the top of the 10th inning on Wednesday night, booming chants of "Let's go Yankees" echoed through Angel Stadium, making Anaheim sound like the Bronx West as New York's lineup erupted for a two-out rally.
When pinch-hitter Austin Wells stepped to the plate with the bases loaded, the Yankees were staring at another frustrating extra-inning jam. Instead, Wells grounded a two-run single to right field off Angels reliever Luke Murphy, unlocking a five-run 10th-inning surge that propelled New York to a 6-3 victory over the Angels.
The clutch single triggered a chain reaction of four consecutive two-out RBI hits. Cody Bellinger followed with a sharp line drive to center to score Jazz Chisholm Jr. Trent Grisham lined a single to left to bring home Wells. And Ben Rice capped the rally with a liner to right to score Bellinger.
"[Murphy is] tough on lefties, and Wellsy has a long at-bat and eventually outlasts him," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "To do all the damage that we did there with two outs was massive, and turned a light day offensively into a really good way to end this series and head into an off-day."
For a Yankees club locked in an American League East race in which they currently trail the Rays by 3 1/2 games with a month left in the regular season, finding late-game execution has been critical down the stretch. New York entered Wednesday night having scored 11 runs in extra innings across 12 extra-inning games this season.
"That's where we're at in the season," Boone said. "Everyone's got to be ready every single day. Because even if you're not in the lineup, as we've seen a lot here lately, you may be up in the most important spot in the game. Credit to [Wells] for being ready and really, really happy for him to get rewarded."
Wells, who worked through mechanical tweaks during a spell on the injured list earlier this season, has reshaped the bottom of New York's order during the stretch run.
"I think a lot of it was just understanding where my swing was at and how I was missing -- whether it was actually missing or fouling stuff off I should be hitting," Wells said. "That awareness has helped for sure, allowing me to be a little bit more accurate with the bat and the timing.
"I feel like I've been on time a decent amount, working a lot of deep counts. Overall, I just feel like grinding at-bats out, trying to see pitches, and trying not to miss when they throw it in a zone that I can hit."
Boone noted that Wells’ quality at-bats over the past month have transformed the entire dynamic of New York's lineup.
"You feel like he's that threat again down there, and that's massive," Boone said. "One of the things that's plagued us at times this year when we've gone through some struggles offensively is just not having that length and too many easy innings in the nine. As we get more guys starting to swing it, we can become the offense we believe we can be."
Part of that emerging lineup depth includes a surging Cody Bellinger, who paced the offense all week in Anaheim, going 8-for-14 in the series.
"Routine," Bellinger said of what’s behind his success. "Just try to stay as locked in as I can and as consistent as I can. Ultimately, when the game starts, it's having a plan, sticking to it, and being confident."
The late outburst rewarded eight dominant frames from starter Cam Schlittler before the bullpen sealed the win. After David Bednar struck out three in a scoreless ninth, Boone was ejected in the 10th for arguing a check swing call -- his fifth of the season and 51st of his career -- before Michael Fulmer, despite giving up a two-run home run to Moisés Ballesteros, secured the final out.
"It's always nice for that ball to get through and to give us the energy to keep it going," Bellinger said of the late-inning rally. "Last month of the season, and we got to wake up every day and win."
With Tampa Bay losing on Wednesday, the victory allowed New York to gain a game in the standings as the team heads into a scheduled off-day before a weekend series against the Padres.
"We've got to just control what we can do," Boone said. "We're trying to be at our very best, and we got an off-day here to reset, hopefully recharge, and go face a tough Padre team this weekend and hopefully keep it going."