New York Yankees rookie shortstop George Lombard Jr. set a dubious 111-year team record on Thursday night after committing a fielding error in his sixth consecutive game during a 5-1 loss to the Houston Astros.
The 21-year-old infielder, three weeks into his major league career, made history earlier this month as the first Yankees shortstop to hit a home run in his big-league debut. However, he has now recorded seven errors across his first 20 games.
Following his latest defensive miscue, Lombard stated that his play was not up to standard.
"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."
Defensive Miscue in Eighth Inning
The record-setting mistake took place in the eighth inning of Thursday's game with Houston runner Christian Walker positioned on second base. Astros batter Yainer Diaz hit a ground ball that caromed off Lombard's glove.
The ball ricocheted to third baseman Jose Caballero, who was charged with a throwing error following a wild toss to first base as Walker came around to score Houston's fifth run.
With the misplay, Lombard became the first Yankees shortstop to commit an error in six straight games since Roger Peckinpaugh in 1915. The streak also included Wednesday night's game, where Lombard misplayed a grounder hit by Walker in the seventh inning, allowing the tying run to score before New York eventually pulled away for a 9-3 win.
Manager Assessment and Team Statistics
Yankees manager Aaron Boone addressed the eighth-inning confusion on Thursday, noting that on-field indecision contributed to the error.
"The one today, it's kind of that in-between ball. So you're like, is the third baseman getting there?" Boone said. "Is he not? There's a little indecisiveness there. So I think that played into that a little bit."
Lombard currently holds a925 fielding percentage and has turned 15 double plays. New York had relied on Anthony Volpe and Caballero at shortstop before promoting Lombard, their top prospect. Overall, Yankees shortstops have combined for 16 errors this season.
Last season, Volpe led American League shortstops with 19 errors while playing through a torn labrum in his shoulder for the final four months of the year.
Despite the recent defensive struggles, Boone expressed confidence in Lombard's foundational ability to overcome the slump.
"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."
