NEW YORK — Aaron Boone was peeved by his team’s performance in a matinee loss in Saturday’s doubleheader at Yankee Stadium. Then George Lombard Jr., the shortstop who had played every inning of his brief New York Yankees career, twisted his right knee early in the second game.
“Good enough to stay in right now,” Boone, the Yankees’ manager, told Ken Rosenthal on Fox as the top of the third inning began, but he didn’t sound hopeful. The next pitch sailed over the right field fence for a Boston Red Sox homer. The day was becoming a disaster.
But while Lombard was visiting New York-Presbyterian Hospital in the middle innings, the Yankees (77-59) recovered to wallop the Red Sox, 9-2, and earn a split. They now lead Boston (74-62) by three games for the top American League wild-card spot.
Lombard might not play on Sunday, when the winner will clinch the season series and a potential tiebreaker between the teams. But the Yankees believe Lombard will avoid the injured list, even without definitive word on his test results.
“They’re still waiting to make sure and clarify, but it looks like a day-to-day situation,” Boone said postgame.
Lombard was batting against Brayan Bello in the second when he twisted his knee while rotating his hips on a fastball that veered inside. The ball did not hit Lombard, but he asked for time after the awkward movement.
He grimaced and hopped out of the box on his left foot, then grabbed at his knee and flexed it with a trainer before staying in and singling to left on the next pitch.
“A little weird discomfort,” Boone described it after the game. “He was going to swing and then kind of really shut down. I think he caught his spike a little bit as he was kind of putting the brakes on. Just kind of tweaked it.”
George Lombard Jr. has now exited the game after twisting his knee back in the second inning
He stayed in the game but left before the fourth pic.twitter.com/xjciCCw1GN
— Talkin’ Yanks (@TalkinYanks) August 30, 2026
Lombard played defense in the top of the third and batted again in the bottom of the inning, flying out to left. But Boone removed him before the top of the fourth, shifting José Caballero to shortstop and bringing in Amed Rosario to play third base.
“I heard that it’s not too bad,” Caballero said. “It’s great news because he’s been playing really well. So we need the whole group together and healthy.”
Lombard, 21, has become integral to the group since arriving on Aug. 4, after the Yankees refused to trade him at the deadline. He is hitting .253/.310/.367 with two home runs in 23 games, though he has committed seven errors.
His single was part of an unusual attack by the Yankees, who had 13 singles without an extra-base hit in Saturday’s second game. The last time they did that in a nine-inning game (per a Statcast search) was May 1, 1999, in Kansas City. Chuck Knoblauch had three hits that night; Luis García Jr. did it this time.
García, acquired from the Washington Nationals in a trade on Aug. 3, has 15 hits (including four homers) in his last 10 games. He is hitting .309 for the Yankees and will not be a free agent until after the 2027 season.
“You’re seeing a guy (at) 26 years old really come of age this year, and he hasn’t really missed the beat since coming over to us,” Boone said. “We’re thrilled to have him because he’s a dangerous, dangerous hitter.”
Luis García Jr. went 3-for-4 in the second game. He has hit .309 with an .895 OPS since joining the Yankees. (Jim McIsaac / Getty Images)
The Yankees haven’t had enough of those in their summer without Aaron Judge, who has not played since May 31 because of a stress fracture of his right rib. In 75 games without Judge before Saturday, the Yankees had a .220 average and a .290 on-base percentage, both MLB lows, and had outscored only the Seattle Mariners during that time.
The first game brought more futility, with the Yankees looking all but helpless in a 6-0 loss to Jake Bennett and three relievers. Their Game 2 outburst came mostly with an eighth-inning singles parade off Raymond Burgos, Boston’s extra man for the doubleheader.
The Yankees’ best news was probably the return of Max Fried, who missed two weeks with a recurrence of a left elbow bone bruise. Fried was on a pitch count and still hasn’t earned a victory since April, but he said he felt strong for 3 ⅔ innings, striking out four and allowing one run.
“I would say I was feeling really strong before this IL stint, and I was feeling good in the (Aug. 14) game, it was just one little pitch that irritated it,” Fried said. “So to be able to get through, feel really good and come out healthy, that’s all I can ask for.”
Lombard will be back at Yankee Stadium on Sunday with an update on his status. If he can say something similar after Saturday’s scare, that is all the Yankees can ask for, too.