NEW YORK (AP) — George Lombard Jr. made history this month when he became the first New York Yankees shortstop to homer in his major league debut.
Three weeks into his career, however, the rookie set a dubious mark by committing an error for the sixth straight game in Thursday night’s 5-1 loss to the Houston Astros.
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Lombard has seven errors in his first 20 games and, after his latest miscue, the 21-year-old said his defense was not acceptable.
“It’s something we’re trying to figure out,” Lombard said. “It’s not acceptable. It can’t happen at this level. If you make your pitchers have to get extra outs it just makes it way harder on us, and teams are going to capitalize. So it’s something that we’re definitely going to have to clean up and I've got to be better tomorrow.”
With Christian Walker on second base in the eighth inning, Yainer Diaz hit a grounder that caromed off Lombard’s glove. The ball ricocheted to third baseman José Caballero and he was charged with a throwing error for his wild toss to first as Walker scored Houston’s fifth run.
“The one today, it’s kind of that in-between ball. So you’re like, is the third baseman getting there?” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Is he not? There’s a little indecisiveness there. So I think that played into that a little bit.”
Lombard became the first Yankees shortstop since Roger Peckinpaugh in 1915 to commit an error in six consecutive games. On Wednesday night, Lombard misplayed a grounder by Walker in the seventh that allowed the tying run to score before the Yankees pulled away for a 9-3 victory.
Lombard has a .925 fielding percentage and has turned 15 double plays after the Yankees used Anthony Volpe and Caballero at shortstop until calling up their top prospect. New York shortstops have combined to make 16 errors overall.
Last season, Volpe led American League shortstops with 19 errors while playing with a torn labrum in his shoulder for the final four months.
“The good thing about George is you know he’s so skilled and gifted out there and foundationally he’s really good, too," Boone said. “So he will get through it.”
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