Top prospect George Lombard Jr. homers in MLB debut for Yankees
NEW YORK (AP) — George Lombard Jr. homered in his major league debut after being called up by the Yankees from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre.
After grounding out in his first at-bat, Lombard gave the Yankees a 2-0 lead over St. Louis in the fifth inning, sending an 0-2 sweeper from Hunter Dobbins into the left field seats. His father, George Lombard Sr. — the bench coach for Detroit — cheered from the stands as his son rounded the bases.
Lombard became the first Yankee to homer in his big league debut since Jasson Domínguez homered in his first career at-bat against Justin Verlander Sept. 1, 2023.
Lombard also turned a pair of double plays in the third and and fifth.
Lombard was not the only Yankee to debut on Tuesday. Newly acquired outfielder Heliot Ramos batted fourth and played left field after being acquired from the Giants before Monday's trade deadline.
To make room for Lombard and Ramos, shortstop Anthony Volpe and Domínguez were optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre.
On Monday, GM Brian Cashman implied the Tigers and Orioles asked for Lombard in potential deals for Tarik Skubal and Adley Rutschman, who were acquired by the Dodgers and Red Sox respectively.
Lombard, New York’s first-round pick in 2023, began this season by hitting .312 in 20 games with Double-A Somerset. After getting promoted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre, Lombard batted .268 with six homers and 21 RBIs in 56 games.
“He’s checked a lot of boxes,” manager Aaron Boone said. “He’s put together an outstanding year. It’s kind of continued to get better throughout the year.”
Lombard’s time in Triple-A was interrupted by a left finger injury that sidelined him for nearly a month. In 14 games since returning, Lombard is batting .377 and went 4-for-5 with three RBIs in a 13-3 win over Iowa on Sunday.
“It wasn’t any big adjustment,” Lombard said. “Obviously I had the little thing with the hand, got ready, got back to Tampa, got myself back and playing again. Felt good the whole time, baseball-wise I didn’t really felt I lost a step. I got back and I felt like I kept going from where I left off."
Lombard’s father George Sr. played 144 big league games during a six-year career with Atlanta, Detroit, Tampa Bay and Washington. The elder Lombard has been Detroit’s bench coach since 2021 and was the first-base coach for the Dodgers from 2016 to 2020.
Ramos joined the Yankees after batting .264 with nine homers and 34 RBIs in 74 games for the Giants.
“When I first found out about the news I started shaking a little bit because obviously I didn’t know anything else,” Ramos said. “But then I realized, I’m like ’man I’m going to be a New York Yankee. Like that’s crazy.”
Ramos is expected to see the bulk of his time in left field where he started 64 games. Ramos did not make any errors in 111 chances in left field after leading NL left fielders with nine errors in left last season.
Last season, Volpe batted .212 with 19 homers and 72 RBIs in 153 games. He sustained a torn labrum in his left shoulder in early May that required offseason surgery on Oct. 14.
Volpe batted .240 with one homer and 19 RBIs in 56 games. In his last five games, Volpe was 1-for-15 and he is expected to see time at second base in Triple-A.
Domínguez batted .230 with six homers and 14 RBIs so far this season. He was initially called up April 28 and sprained his left shoulder when he crashed into Yankee Stadium’s left field scoreboard during a May 7 game against Texas.
Besides adding Lombard and Ramos, the Yankees promoted Yerry de Los Santos to replace Angel Chivilli in the bullpen.
Chivilli allowed three homers in the eighth inning Monday, including Alec Burleson’s third homer of the game. The right-hander is 1-1 with a 3.78 ERA in 15 appearances for the Yankees, who acquired him from Colorado in January.
De Los Santos has a 1.04 ERA in five appearances for the Yankees.
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