Yankees boost lineup with Lombard, who homers in debut - ESPN

NEW YORK — George Lombard Jr. saw a sweeper over the middle of the plate, sent the 0-2 pitch over the left field fence and made his highly anticipated big league debut even more memorable.

A few hours later, Lombard was exchanging memorabilia with the fans who caught the first home run ball of a career.

After being called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre, Lombard gave the Yankees a two-run lead in Tuesday's 2-0 victory over the Cardinals by hitting a 392-foot shot off Hunter Dobbins in the fifth inning. His father George Lombard Sr. — the bench coach for Detroit — cheered from the stands with his mother as his son rounded the bases.

«It was really cool,» Lombard said. «Being a close game, it was a big run. So it was probably a moment, a swing, a day I won't forget.»

After the Yankees closed out the victory, Lombard met with the fans who caught the ball in the hallway outside the clubhouse. He signed hats and traded a bat for the ball while posing for pictures.

Lombard became the first Yankee to homer in his big league debut since Jasson Domínguez homered in his first career at-bat against Justin Verlander Sept. 1, 2023. He is the 14th player in the team history to homer in his big league debut and part of a group that includes injured captain Aaron Judge (2016) and Hall of Famer Yogi Berra (1946).

At 21 years, 63 days old, Lombard became the sixth-youngest Yankees player since 1985 to make his debut and the second-youngest shortstop in that span. Derek Jeter debuted May 29, 1995, in Seattle at 20 years, 337 day

Lombard also turned a pair of double plays in the third and fifth.

«Obviously a great first night for him,» manager Aaron Boone said. «The home run was great. The defense was tremendous.»

In the third,