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 his career.
After being called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre earlier in the day, Lombard gave the Yankees a two-run lead in Tuesday night's 2-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals by hitting a 392-foot solo shot off Hunter Dobbins in the fifth inning.
Lombard rounded the bases as his parents cheered and hugged in the stands. His father, George Lombard Sr., is the bench coach for the Detroit Tigers and a former major league player himself.
“It was really cool,” the younger 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.”
The 21-year-old Lombard became the first Yankees shortstop to homer in his major league debut. After the game, the touted prospect met in the hallway outside the clubhouse with the fans who caught the ball. He signed hats and traded a bat for the souvenir ball while posing for pictures.
Lombard was the 14th player in franchise history to hit a home run in his big league debut and first since Jasson Domínguez went deep in his initial plate appearance against Justin Verlander in Houston on Sept. 1, 2023. The group also 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 days.
Lombard also started inning-ending double plays in the second and fifth.
“Obviously, a great first night for him,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “The home run was great. The defense was tremendous.”
In the second, Lombard ranged to his right to field Blaze Jordan’s grounder and made an off-balance throw to second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. In the fifth, Lombard ranged to his left, fielded Nathan Church’s grounder behind second base, stepped on the bag and made a clean throw to first baseman Ben Rice.
“It’s one of those plays that you practice,” Lombard said. “I’ve made that play countless times in practice. Just getting to the game and it’s your body kind of takes over.”
Lombard wasn't the only player to make his Yankees debut Tuesday night. Newly acquired outfielder Heliot Ramos went 0 for 4 but made a nice catch in left field with two runners aboard in the sixth. Ramos was obtained from the San Francisco Giants before Monday's trade deadline.
To make room for Lombard and Ramos, shortstop Anthony Volpe and Domínguez were optioned to Triple-A, where Volpe is expected to see time at second base.
On Monday, general manager Brian Cashman implied the Tigers and Orioles asked for Lombard in potential deals for Tarik Skubal and Adley Rutschman, who were acquired by the Dodgers and Red Sox, respectively.
Lombard, a first-round draft pick by New York in 2023, began this season by hitting .312 in 20 games with Double-A Somerset. After getting promoted to Triple-A, he batted .268 with six homers and 21 RBIs in 56 games.
Lombard’s time in Triple-A was interrupted by a left finger injury that sidelined him for nearly a month. He batted .377 in 14 games after returning and went 4 for 5 with three RBIs in a 13-3 win over Iowa on Sunday.
Ramos joined the Yankees after hitting .264 with nine homers and 34 RBIs in 74 games for the Giants.
“When I first found out about the news I started shaking a little bit because obviously I didn’t know anything else,” Ramos said Tuesday afternoon. “But then I realized, I’m like, man, I’m going to be a New York Yankee. Like, that’s crazy.”
Ramos is expected to get the bulk of his playing time in left field, where he started 64 games for the Giants this season. He did not make any errors in 111 chances after leading National League left fielders with nine errors last year.
Besides adding Lombard and Ramos to the roster, the Yankees promoted Yerry de los Santos from the minors to replace Angel Chivilli in the bullpen.
Chivilli was optioned to Triple-A after allowing three homers in the eighth inning Monday, including Alec Burleson's third of the game. The right-hander is 1-1 with a 3.78 ERA in 15 appearances for the Yankees, who acquired him from Colorado in January.
In five appearances for the Yankees, de los Santos has a 1.04 ERA.
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This story has been corrected to show that Lombard started a double play in the second inning, not the third.
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