Yankees’ George Lombard Jr., 21, Makes History In Postseason Debut

Everything clicked for the New York Yankees on Tuesday in the 9-0 trouncing of their archrivals, the Boston Red Sox, to take the first game of the AL Wild Card series.

This included a piece of history for rookie George Lombard Jr., who had an outstanding three-hit performance to help lead the team to a game one victory. Lombard, 21, is the youngest player in Yankees history to record a hit in his postseason debut.

The hit was a bloop single that he fought off over second baseman Nick Sogard’s head and led to the first run on the board for the Yankees, thanks to Austin Wells, who brought him in on a two-out RBI hit.

The bloop single wasn’t the prettiest contact Lombard has made in his career, but it did the job just as well as a home run in the end, especially given the situation. Expectations for a rookie to perform in the playoffs are typically lower, and experience is key to success in the sport, so any form of contact in that spot was all the Yankees could have asked for.

This isn’t the only history Lombard has created on the Yankees, as he also hit a home run in his MLB debut to become the third-youngest Yankee to do so.

His night wasn’t over, as he also found two more singles in the fourth and eighth innings.

His final stat line would show three hits with two runs scored, an impeccable rookie debut in the playoffs, especially at a place like Yankee Stadium against the Red Sox.

Unfortunately for Lombard, his stat line would be overshadowed by Ben Rice’s four-hit, two-home-run, six-RBI performance, which included a grand slam, but I don’t think Lombard would complain if he heard that before the game.

Game two is tonight in New York, with game three (if necessary) also being played at Yankee Stadium in the best-of-three series.

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Article by Robert Blute