NEW YORK — Yankees rookie George Lombard Jr. looked like a future Gold Glove winner in his play at shortstop right after his first call-up from Triple-A on Aug. 4. In his first week, he showed off his range, arm and instinct making tough plays look easy while handling everything routine with ease.
In his first 14 games, the 21-year-old rookie made just one error in 64 chances.
And then out of nowhere came a bunch of errors, one each in five Yankees games in a row through Wednesday night’s 9-3 win over the Astros.
“I don’t expect it to be a thing that continues a lot,” manager Aaron Boone said. “He’s going to make errors at that position.”
Here’s the rundown:
-- In the Blue Jays’ fifth inning last Friday, Lombard chased down a popup in foul territory and dropped it.
-- In the Blue Jays’ eighth inning Saturday, Miles Straw laced a two-hopper to short. Lombard took one step to his right, reached down to make a backstop stop and the ball bounced off his glove. Lombard quickly retrieved the ball and threw to first base late.
-- In the Blue Jays’ fourth inning Sunday, Ernie Clement rocketed a two-on, one-out one-hopper right at Lombard, who booted the ball because he held his glove upward instead of down, which was pointed out on the YES telecast by game analyst Paul O’Neill.
-- In the Astros’ first inning Tuesday, Jose Altuve reached on an infield single on a grounder behind second that deflected off second baseman Jazz Chisholm’s glove to Lombard. The rookie picked it up with his barehand and whipped a one-hop throw to first base that got past Paul Goldschmidt, allowing Yordan Alvarez to advance 90 feet from second base to third.
-- In the Astros’ seventh inning Wednesday, a 3-2 Yankees lead turned into a tie game when Christian Walker’s four hopper near second base bounced off the heel of Lombard’s glove for a fifth error in five games and No. 6 for the season.
“He’s just happened to made a few kind of funky ones in the last few days,” Boone said. “One where a ball gets ricocheted, he picks it up and throws it in the dirt. He probably shouldn’t have (thrown the ball). One on a transfer.
“I think over time he’s going to be really steady, as well as doing all the other things that allows (him) with his range and his strength.”
Boone says “I’ll pick my spots” to talk to Lombard about his fielding, but he’s still writing his name on the lineup card every day. For Thursday night’s game, Lombard was back at shortstop and hitting fifth.
For Friday’s series opener between the Yankees and the Red Sox, the over/under is set at 7 total runs on BetMGM. Our complete BetMGM Sportsbook review shows you how to navigate through their app.
Lombard’s bat has been pretty good. In his first 19 games, he hit .265 with two homers and six RBI.
Despite the recent errors, Lombard’s fielding also is a strength, Boone contends.
“His work’s great,’ Boone said. “He’s fundamentally very good, so I expect this to be a bump or a little blip on the radar. That’s my hope.”
Read the original article on NJ.com. Add NJ.com as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Leave a Comment