Good news for Yankees on George Lombard Jr., Aaron Judge
Yankees manager Aaron Boone and a trainer check on shortstop George Lombard Jr. during the second inning against the Boston Red Sox in Game 2 of a split doubleheader at Yankee Stadium on Saturday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Yankees rookie shortstop George Lombard Jr. was removed from Saturday night’s win over Boston in the fourth inning after tweaking his right knee on a second-inning check swing and feeling discomfort afterward, but he appears to have avoided going on the 10-day injured list.
Before first pitch of the Yankees’ 16-1 pounding of the Red Sox on Sunday at the Stadium, he said imaging of the knee showed “no structural damage” and added, “It’s good that it’s nothing too serious.”
Manager Aaron Boone said Lombard could have played Sunday in “emergency” circumstances and added that his availability is day-to-day.
“It [feels] a little stiff and there’s still a little soreness and a little inflammation in there, but not terrible,” said Lombard, adding that the affected area is behind the kneecap.
Jose Caballero started at shortstop and had three hits, including a three-run homer off infielder Andruw Monasterio in a nine-run eighth inning, and scored three runs.
Lombard, 21, the club’s top position prospect, has a .253 batting average and a .677 OPS with two home runs and six RBIs in 23 games since his Aug. 4 debut. He played well in the field until a string of six straight games with an error that ended Friday.
Judge traveling west
Aaron Judge is traveling with the team for this week’s series against the Angels and Padres. He is expected to begin facing velocity and do pregame activities in his progression from the right rib stress fracture that has sidelined him since May 31. Although Judge said last week that he doesn’t envision needing a minor-league rehab assignment, a return from the IL during the trip may be too optimistic a prognosis. A return to the starting lineup the following week, when the Yankees host Colorado and the Mets, is more probable.
Third baseman Ryan McMahon, out since Aug. 19 with a left thumb sprain, said he tolerated the discomfort well in a minor-league game Saturday and expects to be activated from the IL on Tuesday, when rosters expand to 28.
Gil called up
The Yankees' relief corps got a brand-name reinforcement Sunday and has another in the pipeline.
Righthander Luis Gil, who went 15-7 in 2024 and was named the American League Rookie of the Year, was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Righthander Clarke Schmidt, a starter before his 2025 Tommy John surgery, saw his first game action Saturday for Double-A Somerset (20 pitches) and felt very positive.
Both could figure into the bullpen picture for the postseason.
Red Sox get reinforcements
The Red Sox brought back a pair of key pieces from the IL for what indisputably was the biggest game of their season to date: star outfielder Roman Anthony and shortstop Trevor Story. Both have been out since May, long before the Red Sox went on their stunning 32-5 surge to vault into contention after a 32-46 start.
Long Boston’s top position prospect, Anthony was envisioned as central to their success after posting an .859 OPS in 71 games last season, but he hadn’t played since May 4 because of a right wrist injury. He went 2-for-4 with a double on Sunday. Story, out since May 14 for sports hernia surgery, went 2-for-3 with a double.
Extra bases
Sunday's game represented a four-game swing for the Yankees and Red Sox. By taking three out of four games this weekend, the Yankees went 7-6 in the season series and moved four games ahead of Boston, which, because of the tiebreaker advantage they earned Sunday, is the equivalent of five games ahead. If the Red Sox had won, they would have moved within two games of the Yankees and earned the tiebreaker advantage, which would have been the equivalent of a one-game deficit . . . After managing only two runs and batting .135 (12-for-89) in a three-game span, the Yankees scored 25 runs and had 31 hits in the final two games of the series . . . The Yankees, who had alternated wins and losses in their previous nine games, trail the AL East-leading Rays by 4 ½ games.
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
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