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, Lombard gave the Yankees a two-run lead in Tuesday’s 2-0 victory over the Cardinals by hitting a 392-foot shot off Hunter Dobbins in the fifth inning. His father George Lombard Sr. — the bench coach for Detroit — cheered from the stands with his mother as his son rounded the bases.
“It was really cool,” 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.”
After the Yankees closed out the victory, Lombard met with the fans who caught the ball in the hallway outside the clubhouse. He signed hats and traded a bat for the ball while posing for pictures.
Lombard became the first Yankee to homer in his big league debut since Jasson Domínguez homered in his first career at-bat against Justin Verlander Sept. 1, 2023. He is the 14th player in the team history to homer in his big league debut and part of a group that 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 turned a pair of double plays in the second and fifth.
“Obviously a great first night for him,” manager Aaron Boone said. “The home run was great. The defence was tremendous.”
In the second, Lombard ranged to his right, fielded Blaze Jordan’s grounder and made an off-balance throw to second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. for the first out. 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 Yankee to debut on Tuesday. Newly acquired outfielder Heliot Ramos went 0 for 4 and made a nice catch in left field with two on in the sixth after being acquired from the Giants before Monday’s trade deadline.
To make room for Lombard and Ramos, shortstop Anthony Volpe and Domínguez were optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre.
On Monday, GM 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, New York’s first-round pick in 2023, began this season by hitting .312 in 20 games with Double-A Somerset. After getting promoted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre, Lombard 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. In 14 games since returning, Lombard is batting .377 and went 4-for-5 with three RBIs in a 13-3 win over Iowa on Sunday.
Ramos joined the Yankees after batting .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 see the bulk of his time in left field where he started 64 games. Ramos did not make any errors in 111 chances in left field after leading NL left fielders with nine errors in left last season.
Last season, Volpe batted .212 with 19 homers and 72 RBIs in 153 games. He sustained a torn labrum in his left shoulder in early May that required offseason surgery on Oct. 14.
Volpe batted .240 with one homer and 19 RBIs in 56 games. In his last five games, Volpe was 1-for-15 and he is expected to see time at second base in Triple-A.
Domínguez batted .230 with six homers and 14 RBIs so far this season. He was initially called up April 28 and sprained his left shoulder when he crashed into Yankee Stadium’s left field scoreboard during a May 7 game against Texas.
Besides adding Lombard and Ramos, the Yankees promoted Yerry de Los Santos to replace Angel Chivilli in the bullpen.
Chivilli allowed three homers in the eighth inning Monday, including Alec Burleson’s third homer 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.
De Los Santos has a 1.04 ERA in five appearances for the Yankees.