George Lombard Jr. did not need the long ball this time. In his first postseason game, the Yankees’ 21-year-old shortstop set the tone with a soft single, kept finding base and finished with three hits as New York blanked Boston, 9-0, in Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series at Yankee Stadium.
The result
Lombard went 3-for-4, scored twice and handled every chance at shortstop cleanly. His first hit came in the second inning, when he fought Red Sox left-hander Payton Tolle through seven pitches before dropping a ball into shallow center field.
At 21 years and 119 days, Lombard became the youngest Yankee ever to record a hit in his postseason debut. That base hit helped start New York’s first rally. After two more singles, Austin Wells delivered a two-out RBI hit, and Lombard crossed the plate for the game’s opening run.
Cam Schlittler had the early support he needed, and the Yankees never let Boston back into the game.
Lombard followed with an infield hit in the fourth, slipping a ground ball through the left side. The hit made him the second-youngest player in postseason history to reach safely with hits in each of his first two trips to the plate.
His only misstep came on the bases. After reaching in the fourth, Lombard strayed too far from second on Spencer Jones’ line drive to third and was doubled off.
He answered with his hardest contact in the eighth. Lombard drove a 3-1 fastball to the wall in right-center at 108.6 mph, settling for a long single and his third hit. Only Gregg Jefferies, at 21 years and 64 days in Game 1 of the 1988 National League Championship Series, was younger when collecting three hits in a postseason debut.
The young infielder had already made club history simply by taking the field. Lombard became the youngest Yankees shortstop to start a postseason game, surpassing Frankie Crosetti’s mark from the 1932 World Series, a record that had stood for 94 years.
His Major League arrival had been much louder. In his Aug. 4 debut, Lombard homered on a ball hit 100.2 mph that traveled nearly 400 feet into the left-center bleachers. That blast made him the third-youngest Yankee to homer in his first big league game. Derek Jeter, who debuted in 1995, remains the only younger Yankees shortstop to play the position for the club.
Lombard said the pregame introductions brought a few nervous, excited feelings, but once play began, he settled into the game and enjoyed it.
“It is an honor, and sometimes it still feels unreal,” Lombard said of the milestones. “But the group has a larger objective, so it is easier to stay focused, keep working and compete every day.”
His regular-season introduction was not without rough patches. Lombard made an error in six straight games from Aug. 21 through Aug. 27. He batted .253 in his first month, then hit .219 in September, though his OPS during September was 54 points better.
Manager Aaron Boone saw a player who had already absorbed both sides of a first season in the majors. Before the series, Boone said Lombard had handled success and setbacks well over the previous two months and looked ready for the October stage.
Lombard said resilience is essential in the majors, particularly with attention growing around a young player. He credited teammates, clubhouse veterans and his personal support system for helping him reset after whatever happens on the field.
