You never know what to expect from a major league debut. You could get a fiery one like Aaron Judge’s first-pitch home run, or you could get a game like Mike Mayers allowing nine runs in 1.2 innings (both of which happened in 2016). I couldn’t tell you what Gleyber Torres did in his MLB debut, which I was in attendance for back in April 2018, but the memory of such a debut rings eternal.
For George Lombard Jr., the latest highly-touted prospect in an organization that puts pressure on youngsters like
none other in the history of baseball, he probably didn’t need a tremendous first impression given the shoddy performance in the infield and who he was replacing, but coming out firing would boost the confidence of a front office that probably wanted to wait another two weeks to maintain his rookie eligibility.
Well, his MLB debut was as good as you could’ve hoped for. Some slick defensive plays and a memorable first major league hit and homer in the same at-bat were the highlights of a ho-hum 2-0 shutout victory at Yankee Stadium over the Cardinals.
The night started much better than last, as Weathers came out throwing strikes and kept the Cardinals’ hitters off balance. After Cam Schlittler’s five walks and gargantuan pitch count populated the start of the game on Monday, the lefty was efficient and effective. Yankee hater Hunter Dobbins was on the mound, continuing a scoreless streak against the team he performatively hates that began with six scoreless innings last year with Boston with a clean first of his own.
In the second, a one-out single by Masyn Winn became the game’s first baserunner, but he didn’t last too long. On the very next pitch, Blaze Jordan would ground a ball into the 5.5 hole that the rookie Lombard would snag before turning a picture-perfect 6-4-3 double play in his first chance defensively as a Yankee. He’s an exceptional defender, so expect more plays like these in the future.
Perhaps energized by his double play partner’s dazzling play, Jazz Chisholm Jr. thought to provide some offense, hammering a looping curveball into the short porch in right field for a go-ahead home run, his 17th of the season. For those with good memories, you may recall Chisholm’s “free smoke” tweet in response to the Dobbins story last season. Good way to back it up.
Weathers kept on rolling in the ensuing innings, pitching around a bunt single in the third before tossing a 1-2-3 fourth. Another snazzy double play turned by Lombard in the fifth got him through five extremely quick innings. On the offensive front, a walk by Ben Rice and a single by Luis García Jr. put two on and nobody out, but an unsuccessful contact play and two unproductive at-bats stranded the threat.
The one known quantity we had about Lombard in the major leagues was his stellar defense at shortstop, but there were valid questions about whether his bat would play, particularly against right-handed pitching. While he had excelled against lefties in the minors, there was some risk against righties. You wouldn’t know it the way he swung it in his second at-bat, as Dobbins completely hung an 0-2 sweeper down the pipe, which allowed the rookie to get his arms extended just enough for his first big-league everything. Hit, run, RBI, home run, whatever you want.
Needing a shutdown inning, things got sticky for Weathers in the sixth, as after back-to-back strikeouts to open the inning, he walked JJ Wetherholt on four pitches before a single by Iván Herrera put runners on the corners with two out. Nearing the end of his rope and in a 3-2 count, he was able to get José Fermín to line out to left field to complete six sparkling innings, continuing a really good stretch of late.
For a brief moment, it looked like García made it 4-0 with his second homer in as many nights, but the ball died on the warning track in what was a fleeting sixth inning with a lot of loud contact. Fernando Cruz was first out of the arm barn in the seventh, immediately giving up a leadoff double to Nelson Velazquez before getting the next two outs. With a runner on third and two out, Brent Headrick was called upon out of the bullpen and needed just one pitch to retire last night’s hero, Nathan Church.
It seemed like the Yankees could get some insurance in the seventh after a single by Ryan McMahon and a walk by Lombard put two on with one out. Dobbins was lifted from the game by Oli Mormol for former Yankee Caleb Ferguson, as Aaron Boone countered with lefty killer Paul Goldschmidt. Despite seeming to get the matchup they wanted, Goldy hit a hard grounder right back to Ferguson, who turned a 1-4-3 double play to end the inning.
Headrick got in trouble in the eighth, allowing a single before a walk to the 9-hitter put two on and nobody out. Walking a tightrope, he induced a soft grounder out of Wetherholt and struck out Herrera before Boone lifted him for David Bednar. With the tying run on second and the bases loaded after an intentional walk of the pinch-hitting Alec Burleson, he toyed with Velazquez on a three-pitch strikeout to escape the jam.
A quiet top of the ninth against Ferguson put the spotlight back on Bednar, who retired Winn, Jordan, and Church to salt away yet another shutout victory. The Yankees now have 12 of those this season, second in the majors behind the Phillies.
The Yankees will look to win the rubber game tomorrow night at 7:05 pm. It’ll be Will Warren looking to build on his strong last start at Wrigley against Andre Pallante on Prime Video.
