– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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NEW YORK — Who needs October to showcase the chops needed to be the latest New York Yankees star? George Lombard Jr., as he’s done since his ballyhooed call-up a few months ago, whetted the appetite of every Bronx Bomber teammate and fan alike with a Mr. October or Mr. November performance right before the end of September as the postseason looms less than a week away.
The rookie shortstop drove in three runs, which included launching a go-ahead two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth as the Yankees scored five runs in their final two turns at-bat to defeat the Tampa Bay Rays 6-4 inside Yankee Stadium on Thursday evening.
The comeback against the American League East champions-elect served as a trial run for the Yankees’ first Wild Card series game slated for five days from now against the Boston Red Sox, with starter Cam Schlittler making his final tune-up start before a possible Game 1 nod, allowing two runs (one unearned) in three innings to end the season with a 1.95 ERA — the third lowest mark posted by a starter in franchise history.
Lombard Jr. has only started etching his name in those historical annals, but tonight’s performance only portends to emulating the likes of Jeter and Reggie. The comeback started with his RBI double in the seventh to cut Tampa Bay’s lead to 4-2. He then came around to score on a wild pitch on move out of Neo from The Matrix lore, aborting his slide to pop up and avoid the tag from catcher Liam Hicks after the pitch ricocheted off the backstop and right back towards the catcher.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Thursday evening’s game, with photos taken by staff photographer Chris Gonzalez. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page. Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 20 pictures in total.
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