{"id":807385,"date":"2026-08-09T00:46:30","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T00:46:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/807385\/"},"modified":"2026-08-09T00:46:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T00:46:30","slug":"george-lombard-jr-and-luis-garcia-jr-save-the-day-for-yankees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/807385\/","title":{"rendered":"George Lombard Jr. and Luis Garcia Jr. save the day for Yankees"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In summoning George Lombard Jr., the Yankees knew he could play defense.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In trading for Luis Garc\u00eda Jr., the Yankees knew he could hit right-handed pitching and probably considered anything else a pleasant surprise.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>And so in Friday\u2019s 10th inning, the Yankees were validated and pleasantly surprised, respectively, as both newcomers to The Bronx made sparkling plays to save what became a comeback, <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/08\/08\/sports\/yankees-rally-to-beat-braves-in-dramatic-walk-off-win\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">3-2 victory over the Braves<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It was a game they probably do not win without Lombard, who started a rally in the ninth with an infield single in which he advanced all the way to third on an error, drew a key walk in the bottom of the 10th and showed off one other defensive strength in the top of the inning: a cannon of an arm.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.46494993;display:block\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" data-modal-image=\"40249961\" width=\"864\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/NYP080726YANKEES77JS.jpg\" alt=\"New York Yankees first baseman Luis Garc\u00eda Jr. (26) makes a catch to end the 10th inning\" class=\"wp-image-40249961\"  \/>New York Yankees first baseman Luis Garc\u00eda Jr. (26) makes a catch to end the 10th inning in a series-opening win over the Braves. Jason Szenes for the New York Post<\/p>\n<p>Leading off the extra frame, Atlanta\u2019s Sean Murphy hit a hard ground ball into the shortstop hole, which is where Lombard has starred in his brief time in the majors. The rookie ranged, backhanded and left his feet \u2014 a small leap, if not a Jeterian one \u2014 and showed off an arm whose power is obvious.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s able to \u2014 just with ease, whether he\u2019s off-balance \u2014 no-sweat some plays because he\u2019s physical and strong,\u201d manager Aaron Boone said of his new everyday, 21-year-old shortstop. \u201cHe\u2019s not even reaching for much there, and he makes that play kind of easy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>After a ground out brought ghost runner Austin Riley to third, Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr. hit a two-out bloop down the first-base line. Three Yankees defenders converged on a flare that appeared to be sent into no-man\u2019s land.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img style=\"aspect-ratio:0.8125;display:block\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-modal-image=\"40249962\" width=\"479\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/NYP080726YANKEES73JS.jpg\" alt=\"New York Yankees shortstop George Lombard Jr. (96) fields the ball during the ninth inning.\" class=\"wp-image-40249962\"  \/>New York Yankees shortstop George Lombard Jr. (96) fields the ball during the ninth inning. Jason Szenes for the New York Post<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo be honest,\u201d Garc\u00eda said through interpreter Marlon Abreu, \u201cI didn\u2019t think I had a chance.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>And yet the first baseman sprinted, extended and stuck out his glove. His best Willie Mays impression ended with catching the third out of the frame with his back to home plate.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\tYankees Merch Shop\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\tNew York Post receives revenue from affiliate and advertising partnerships for sharing this content and when you make a purchase.\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat a play,\u201d Boone said after a game that was clinched by Ryan McMahon\u2019s sacrifice fly but will be better remembered for defensive excellence, which also included Trent Grisham\u2019s strong throw to third base in the first inning that saved a run.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In summoning George Lombard Jr., the Yankees knew he could play defense.\u00a0 In trading for Luis Garc\u00eda Jr.,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":807386,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[2111,169750,363,369,99],"class_list":["post-807385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-atlanta-braves","tag-george-lombard-jr","tag-mlb","tag-new-york-yankees","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/807385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=807385"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/807385\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/807386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=807385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=807385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=807385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}