Big series from Yankees’ George Lombard Jr., Anthony Volpe vs. Rockies makes MLB history
A drought-breaking grand slam turned into back-to-back history for the Yankees, and Anthony Volpe made sure his return stole the show.
The Yankees needed just two days to go from a season-long grand slam drought to the history books. New York completed a three-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies on Thursday with a 10-3 win, one night after George Lombard Jr. hit the club’s first grand slam of the season, only for Anthony Volpe to match him with one of his own in his first game back from Triple-A.
According to OptaStats, it made the Yankees the first team in MLB history to get grand slams from their shortstop and second baseman on back-to-back days, in either order.
Lombard got things started Wednesday, turning on a 1-0 slider from Tomoyuki Sugano with the bases loaded in the third inning and driving it into the short porch for his first career grand slam. It snapped an odd drought for a Yankees lineup that entered the series with 194 home runs on the season, fourth most in the majors, yet had not cleared the bases once.
“Grand slam is cool, but it’s a big swing to put us in front and give us a good lead so we can win today,” Lombard said afterward.
Volpe delivered the encore. Officially recalled before Thursday’s game after Jazz Chisholm Jr. landed on the injured list with a sprained right thumb, Volpe stepped in at second base and turned in one of the best nights of his career, going 3 for 4 with a career high five RBIs. He opened with an RBI single in the second, added another single in the sixth and stole a base, then delivered the exclamation point with a bases loaded grand slam off Rockies reliever Jimmy Herget during a six run seventh inning, earning a curtain call from the Yankee Stadium crowd of 40,706.
Per Elias Sports Bureau, it also marked the first time in franchise history the Yankees got grand slams from players 25 or younger in back-to-back games. Volpe entered the night on a tear since being sent down in early August, having slashed .284/.381/.642 with 10 home runs across 28 games at Triple-A, a sharp turnaround from the .647 OPS that got him demoted in the first place.
The sweep pushed the Yankees to 84-62, pulling them within three games of the first place Rays in the American League East while building a 4½ game cushion over the Red Sox for the top wild card spot.
With Chisholm sidelined and Lombard entrenched at shortstop, Volpe’s big night gives New York a potential answer at second base heading into the season’s final stretch.
The Yankees needed just two days to go from a season-long grand slam drought to the history books. New York completed a three-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies on Thursday with a 10-3 win, one night after George Lombard Jr. hit the club’s first grand slam of the season, only for Anthony Volpe to match him with one of his own in his first game back from Triple-A.