Anthony Volpe is “catching fire” for the Yankees just when they need it

There aren’t many, if any, people who have seen more of Anthony Volpe’s swing in recent years than Austin Wells.

So the Yankees catcher knows what it looks like when Volpe is going right, what he saw in the first two rounds of the playoffs heading into the World Series.

“He was on fire,” Wells said in a video call from Yankee Stadium on Wednesday before the team flew to Los Angeles. “His attacks were great. He doesn’t give up any pitches. You can really tell he’s completely focused on what he wants to do and he’s not giving anything away, and that’s exactly where we need him.”

In his first taste of the postseason, in nine games between the ALDS and ALCS, Volpe hit .310 with an OPS of .804.

The shortstop walked eight times and struck out just six times, routinely having good at-bats and hitting the ball hard almost every time.

During the regular season, Volpe had a pursuit rate of 29.3 percent.

But that number has dropped to 12.5 percent during the playoffs – the second-lowest rate among qualified hitters this postseason – as Volpe has remained much more disciplined at the plate to give the Yankees a steady presence at the back of the lineup.

“Nobody’s trying to do anything too crazy,” Volpe said. “I’m just trying to do my part.”

Volpe, the lifelong Yankee fan, now has a chance to bring a World Series title back to New York after being in the parade as an eight-year-old when the Yankees won their last championship in 2009.

“It will be electric, but we are ready,” Volpe said. “We are ready for any moment. We’ve been through everything. I know when the time comes, we will be ready to answer anything.”

Follow the Post’s coverage of the Yankees in the postseason:

Aaron Boone and Dave Roberts, two central figures in the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry of the early 2000s, will reunite as opposing managers in the World Series on Friday.

But their shared history goes back to college, when Boone played for USC and Roberts played for rival UCLA.

“We weren’t friends – I don’t think I cared too much for him at that point and I don’t think he cared that much for me either,” Roberts said with a grin. “I remember they were probably the best of us back then, which probably increased my dislike for him and the Trojans. But he was always a great ballplayer.”

Anthony Rizzo, playing with two broken fingers, knows what’s in store for left-hander Nestor Cortes, assuming he makes the World Series roster just a month after he was diagnosed with a left elbow flexor strain.

“Obviously he hasn’t been in a game since 2013 [five] It’s been weeks now, so it will be really special for him to come out and get the adrenaline of the World Series,” Rizzo said. “Could be a little wobbly, could be electric. But I know they have big lefties in their lineup that need to be neutralized.”