1. Cam Schlittler’s performance in Game 3 of the Wild Card Series against the Red Sox last October. That’s the last time I felt as good watching a Yankees game as I did on Tuesday night for George Lombard Jr.’s debut. It was so much more than just another game or another win (a much-needed win with both the Rays and Red Sox winning). It signified change at a position that has been a failure over the last four seasons. It signified the promise that for the foreseeable future you won’t have to question who’s playing shortstop for the Yankees on a daily basis.
2. Yes, it was just one game, but Lombard Jr. checked every box. The defense prowess lived up to the hype. The plate discipline did too. He nearly beat out a slow roller in his first plate appearance, homered in his second and walked in his third. And in between his offensive opportunities, he made routine plays in the field look routine and made difficult plays look easy. I can only assume the result of LASIK eye surgery feels like watching Lombard Jr. throw a ball to first base after watching Anthony Volpe throw a ball to first base for four years.
3. Lombard Jr. didn’t just act the part in his first major-league game on the field, he did so in his pregame media session as well, speaking like a seasoned veteran instead of a 21-year-old kid being asked to somewhat help save this slog of a season and help the Yankees do something they haven’t done in going on 17 years. He looked the part with a 6-foot-2 build, immaculate defensive footwork, a strong arm and a plan at the plate. If you could create a shortstop’s build it would be Lombard Jr. He looks straight out of central casting manning shortstop in the Yankees’ infield.
4. Down in Scranton, Volpe must have felt like Ron Burgundy watching Veronica Corningstone do his job. The Stadium crowd went crazy every time Lombard Jr. had a putout or walked to the plate and lost its minds when he homered in a way it never did for Volpe. There was Lombard Jr. turning double plays with Jazz Chisholm and batting in front of Volpe’s best friend in Austin Wells. (I like to think Wells swung at the first pitch and grounded out following Lombard Jr.’s home run to ruin the moment and prevent the curtain call the Stadium crowd was asking for.)
5. As I recently wrote, if Volpe played second base and batted ninth for the Yankees, the perception of him would be completely different. And maybe that’s how he gets back to the Yankees, as a second baseman. Because it’s clear he won’t be playing shortstop again for the Yankees. Lombard Jr. was everything I wanted him to be and needed him to be and I look forward to watching him play shortstop for the Yankees again on Wednesday and on Friday and on Saturday and hopefully every game for the next 15-plus years.
6. Ryan Weathers turned in his third straight gem with six scoreless innings and has allowed just one earned run over his last three starts. The Yankees needed another masterful performance from their starting pitcher because the offense consisted of the Lombard Jr. solo home run and a Chisholm solo home run, while going 5-for-28 with three walks and five strikeouts. They had first and third with no outs in the fourth and failed to score, had first and second with one out in the seventh and failed to score, and also had the leadoff hitter on base in two other innings and did nothing. Heliot Ramos’ Yankees debut was overshadowed by Lombard Jr. mania as the newest Yankee went 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
7. Fernando Cruz and Brent Headrick were shaky, but the overused duo along with David Bednar combined to throw three scoreless innings around four baserunners to preserve the lead and close out the win. Bednar struck out the side in the ninth.
8. How about a 10-run blowout on Wednesday before Thursday’s day off to give the bullpen a rest? The Yankees have won one game by more than three runs since July 9, and in that game, they won by four runs and the White Sox had the tying run in the on-deck circle in the ninth inning. The Yankees either win a nail-biter or lose. It’s unsustainable and it’s completely on the offense. At some point they need to start scoring more than two or three runs per game.
9. It will be Will Warren against Andre Pallante in the series finale on Wednesday. Warren is coming off his best start of the season with 6 2/3 scoreless innings at Wrigley Field. Unfortunately, when it comes to Warren, one start has no bearing on the next. He’s consistently inconsistent and could throw seven scoreless innings against the Cardinals or be pulled in the first inning. I would expect to see the same lineup for the Yankees on Wednesday against another right-hander. Pallante is a good starter, and considering the Yankees’ best offensive attribute is making mediocre-to-good starters look unhittable, I wouldn’t expect anything more than a ceiling of three runs for the offense.
10. It’s a home rubber game against an average team going nowhere and it’s a game the Yankees need to win. The Rays seemingly never lose and the Red Sox actually never lose. The Yankees have gone 14-8 over the last three weeks ago and haven’t gained anything on the Rays in the standings and have lost nearly everything to the Red Sox in the standings. If those two are going to win every day, the Yankees have to do the same. With Garcia essentially replacing Goldschmidt, Ramos replacing Dominguez and Lombard Jr. replacing Volpe and the best rotation in baseball, they have the ability to.
Last modified: Aug 5, 2026
