Yankees' George Lombard Jr. in historically bad company as error streak reaches 6 games

NEW YORK — Defense is supposed to be George Lombard Jr.’s superpower, but the Yankees rookie is in the midst of a serious fielding slump.

The shortstop now has six errors in six consecutive games after booting a ground ball in Thursday’s 5-1 loss to the Astros. The bizarre streak continued on a bizarre play in the eighth inning, as Lombard, on the run, bounced the ball to and nearly collided with third baseman José Caballero, who then committed an error of his own when he airmailed a throw to first.

While it was Caballero’s throw that allowed a run to score, it was Lombard’s half of the play that drew attention after yet another mishap. Afterward, the frustrated 21-year-old acknowledged that he needs to “clean up” his defense, especially with the Yankees trying to catch the Rays for the division lead and fend off the incoming Red Sox for the American League’s top Wild Card spot.

“I don’t know. It’s something you’re trying to figure out,” Lombard, who made just one error in his first 14 MLB games, said when asked why he’s had such a tough time in the field lately. “Obviously, it’s not acceptable. Can’t happen at this level. If you make your pitchers have to get extra outs, it just makes it way harder on us.”

Meanwhile, Aaron Boone said, “I don’t think so” when asked if Lombard, who has played everyday since debuting on Aug. 4, could benefit from a day off. Instead, the manager said that he has “total confidence” that Lombard will put this unusual stretch “in the rearview mirror.”

“The good thing about George is he’s so skilled and gifted out there, and foundationally, he’s really good, too,” Boone said. “So he will get through it. You just gotta get a few going and then start playing kind of carefree, free and easy a little bit. But I’ve been there. Players get there.

“Over time, he’ll be fine.”

Other Yankees were also quick to express confidence in Lombard.

“Errors happen, unfortunately,” Gerrit Cole said after giving up three earned runs over six innings. “Sometimes they happen in groups for everybody. So, I think it’s just important to remember he’s a young player, and he’s working his tail off to get better.”

“You never know how the bounce is, and he’s got a couple bad hops,” added Jazz Chisholm Jr., Lombard’s locker-mate and double play partner. “I mean, it’s just baseball. You just gotta keep fighting on. I tell him every day, ‘Hey, don’t forget what you are and who you are. You’ve done this for a long time. You’re known for this, and sometimes the stuff that you’re known for just doesn’t always go your way.'”

There’s some validity to the Yankees’ lack of concern over Lombard’s recent blunders, as a few of his errors have oddly come on transfers. Another, on Tuesday, came on a reactive attempt to make a play on a ball that ricocheted off of Chisholm’s glove; a rushing Lombard threw it away.

Lombard also entered Thursday with six Defensive Runs Saved. That ranked eighth among 60 shortstops with at least 170 innings at the position this season.

Still, Lombard arrived with the reputation of a fielding wizard after his predecessor, Anthony Volpe, saw his defense drastically decline while playing through a shoulder injury last season. Volpe’s lackluster defense in 2025, combined with four years of subpar offensive production, made him persona non grata among Yankees fans this year, and he was optioned back to Triple-A when Lombard, a fellow first-round pick, was promoted.

The move came with expectations that Lombard, the son of a former big leaguer, would be more of a stabilizing presence. That’s still the expectation, though the last several days have certainly been perplexing, if not necessarily worrisome.

“He’s handling it great, honestly,” Chisholm said. “For a kid that age, 21 years old, first time in the league, playing for the Yankees in New York. The way he’s going about it, it doesn’t really faze him when he’s out there looking for the next pitch and to go make the next play.”

Asked if Chisholm had ever gone through a similar defensive downturn, he cranked his neck like a busted bobblehead, stared blankly and said, “I feel like I couldn’t hit the ball.” The quip was a nod to his struggles at the plate for most of this season.

“I’ve been known for hitting my whole career, from the minor leagues to now, and I just wasn’t hitting the ball as much. So I feel like it’s the same type of thing,” Chisholm continued, but offensive slumps, even extended ones, are more common than what Lombard is going through.

According to Stathead’s Katie Sharp, Lombard is the first Yankees shortstop to commit an error in six straight games since Roger Peckinpaugh did so in 1915. The last Yankee to do that at any position in one season was second baseman Chick Fewster in 1921.

The last player league wide at any position with an error in six or more straight games was Cleveland’s Mark Lewis in 1992, per MLB.com’s Sarah Langs. He actually made errors in seven consecutive games, all of which he started at short.

While Boone didn’t sound keen on getting Lombard a day off before he could match Lewis’ streak, the skipper did say that he wants to make sure that the neophyte continues to play loose, opposed to “guarding against a mistake.” He’s sensed some hesitation from Lombard, though the player insisted that he hasn’t’ been pressing.

Rather, Lombard, who said he powered through his “fair share” of errors growing up by continuing to work on his craft, said he “100 percent” still wants the ball hit to him “every single play.”

“Obviously, the last few days haven’t been what I wanted them to be, but it’s baseball,” he said. “We’re gonna have another game tomorrow, so I just have to do better tomorrow.”