CLEVELAND – For the first time since Aug. 28, Austin Wells was in the lineup, but not in the mop-up spot.

Before Game 4 of the ALCS against the Guardians, Aaron Boone said Wells had lost his swing in recent weeks, so he slid him to the eighth spot, while Jazz Chisholm Jr. batted fourth.

And in Wells’ first at-bat of an 8-6 victory that brought the Yankees to the brink of their first World Series appearance since 2009, the slumping catcher hit his first home run of the postseason.

An 0-for-21 skid was also recorded, leading to Wells being replaced behind the plate by Jose Trevino in Thursday’s Game 3 loss.

“I definitely haven’t felt like myself this past month,” Wells said. “But (Thursday) night I felt like I made a big adjustment after the game and noticed some things when I was doing well.”

So after the worst loss of the season, Wells came to Progressive Field early and worked on fixing some improvements to the way his swing approached the ball, feeling like he had exposed himself to pitches in the zone.

And if he came eighth in the order, so be it.

“It doesn’t matter where I am in the lineup,” Wells said. “I just want to be in the lineup.”

Wells was just 2-for-26 heading into Friday and hadn’t homered since September 9.

He struckout twice later in the game, including in the top of the ninth.

“I feel like he missed some pitches (and) got blown by some pitches,” Aaron Boone said before the game. “He’s typically a guy who puts the ball in play pretty well and controls the offensive zone at the same time. He may have swung and missed on some throws that he had a chance to do some things with.”

That changed with two outs in the top of the second inning.

After Juan Soto’s two-run shot in the first inning gave the Yankees an early lead and Cleveland answered with a run in the bottom half of the inning, Guardians right-hander Gavin Williams struck out Anthony Rizzo and Anthony Volpe to open the third.

But Wells hit a four-seam fastball from Williams into the right-center seats.

The 450-foot homer made it 3-1.

Where Wells ends up in the lineup for Saturday’s Game 5 isn’t as important as getting his swing back.

Boone said Wells may be “a little bit exhausted” at this point in his rookie season, but that hasn’t shaken the manager’s confidence in him.

“I have a lot of confidence in him as a hitter and who he is, just his DNA, as a hitter,” Boone said. “Going forward, I think he has a chance to have the best at-bats at the best times. He’s that kind of hitter.”