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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re still waiting to make sure and clarify, but it looks like a day-to-day situation,\u201d Boone said postgame.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cA little weird discomfort,\u201d Boone described it after the game. \u201cHe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
George Lombard Jr. has now exited the game after twisting his knee back in the second inning<\/p>\n
He stayed in the game but left before the fourth pic.twitter.com\/xjciCCw1GN<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Talkin\u2019 Yanks (@TalkinYanks) August 30, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n 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 Jos\u00e9 Caballero to shortstop and bringing in Amed Rosario to play third base.<\/p>\n \u201cI heard that it\u2019s not too bad,\u201d Caballero said. \u201cIt\u2019s great news because he\u2019s been playing really well. So we need the whole group together and healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n His single was part of an unusual attack by the Yankees, who had 13 singles without an extra-base hit in Saturday\u2019s 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 Garc\u00eda\u00a0Jr. did it this time.<\/p>\n Garc\u00eda, 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.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re seeing a guy (at) 26 years old really come of age this year, and he hasn\u2019t really missed the beat since coming over to us,\u201d Boone said. \u201cWe\u2019re thrilled to have him because he\u2019s a dangerous, dangerous hitter.\u201d<\/p>\n \n Luis Garc\u00eda Jr. went 3-for-4\u00a0 in the second game. He has hit .309 with an .895 OPS since joining the Yankees. (Jim McIsaac \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n The Yankees haven\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2292631039-scaled.jpg\")
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