The Yankees Can’t Hit But Keeping Winning With Help From A Rookie Sensation

NEW YORK – After another exceptional outing from their starting pitcher, the Yankees were trailing 2-0, down to their final out, facing a loss that would directly be blamed on an insipid performance from the offense. But New York’s bats came alive at just the right time on Friday night against the Atlanta Braves. 

Austin Wells and Ben Rice delivered big hits, forced the game into extra innings, and the Bronx Bombers eventually walked it off in the 10th inning for a 3-2 victory.

It was another tense, ugly win. But winning doesn’t have to be pretty for these Yankees, who are operating without three of their biggest bats. 

“We haven’t played well on offense the last two months,” Yankees first baseman Paul Goldschmidt told me on Tuesday. “We’re not satisfied with how we’ve played, at all. It hasn’t turned as quickly as we’d like.”

Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger are all dealing with injuries. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Getty Images)

Since June 1, when Aaron Judge went on the injured list with a fractured right rib, the Yankees offense has been rudderless. They rank last in the majors in batting average (.217), on-base percentage (.284), and wRC+ (87). They’re ranked 29th in MLB in RBIs (214), 28th in OPS (.670), 27th in runs scored (226), 25th in slugging (.385), and 24th in walks (174). Across all the major statistical hitting categories, the Yankees are a mess. 

And yet, Yankees hitting coach James Rowson saw something in that come-from-behind win against the Braves. There was a steady confidence in the dugout when it was easier to believe they were toast. The fight from the lineup meant a lot to Rowson, who thinks that was exactly the type of close, gritty win the Yankees will need to emphasize in October — with or without Judge, Cody Bellinger and Giancarlo Stanton, who are all currently sidelined with injuries. 

“This is a great experience for our group,” Rowson told me on Tuesday before New York’s series opener against Seattle. “What happens is, when our lineup’s full, we have Judgy, we have Belli, we have G, and you get away from fighting. You win so many games with a three-run homer. You win so many games by double-digit runs because those guys can do it. But all of a sudden, when we’re in tight games, we haven’t played a lot of those throughout the year. So I think there’s a different mentality.

“I think, right now, this is going to help us down the stretch. This is going to help us win close games. To get where we want to go, which is to hoist that trophy at the end of the season, I guarantee we’re going to have to win some close games no matter who’s in the lineup. So I’m trying to use this as a breeding ground for how we have to play.”

It says something about the Yankees that two-plus months of underwhelming offense hasn’t derailed them. 

As recently as the 2023 season, the Yankees completely slid out of contention and missed the playoffs when Judge spent significant time on the IL due to a toe injury. This year, they’ve remained in second place in the AL East, the same position they were in when Judge was healthy. 

New York (67-52) has scored three or fewer runs in 16 of its last 21 games, and the club is 11-10 in that span. The Yankees’ 30 comeback wins this season are tied for second-most in the AL.

Rookie shortstop George Lomard Jr. is already turning heads. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images)

Despite a surging Red Sox team (64-54) that’s threatening to catch up, the Yankees have continued to win by leaning on brilliant pitching. Their 3.29 ERA as a staff leads the majors, and it’s not close. Plus, at the trade deadline, they welcomed an unexpected boost from 21-year-old rookie shortstop George Lombard Jr., who has so far met the sky-high expectations that the Bronx demands of him. 

Put it all together and this stretch just might be building the team that shows up in October.

“It’s been several weeks now where it’s been difficult for us to score runs, an area where we gotta be better, and we know that,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “The good thing is we’ve had to play a lot of really close games day in and day out. We’ve done a really good job against a lot of really good teams by winning a lot of those games.”

On Saturday in the cafeteria after the Yankees put the finishing touches on yet another come-from-behind win against the Braves, Lombard was already quizzing teammates about the next day’s starting pitcher. To his teammates, it doesn’t seem like Lombard is overly locked in. This is simply the only way he knows how to be after growing up in and out of major-league clubhouses. 

Lombard is impressive at the plate and on the field. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Lombard is the son of former major-leaguer and current Tigers bench coach, George, who played six seasons as an outfielder for the Braves, Tigers, Nationals, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Lombard’s younger brother, Jacob, made his pro ball debut the same day as his older brother. The Lombard brothers are commended for their high baseball IQs, no doubt a result of spending their childhood around clubhouses, batting cages, and big leaguers. They both hit home runs in their respective debuts, underlining the extreme preparation that’s been built into the foundation of their young careers. 

It’s no wonder, then, that Lombard said he felt “relaxed” on the field and at the plate throughout his major-league debut last week. 

“I think the biggest thing is his demeanor,” Rowson said when I asked what has stood out to him about Lombard’s first handful of games in the majors. “It’s impressive how calm he is through this. You see a 21-year-old kid coming up to the big leagues in this situation, in this part of the season, things are on the line. We’re playing for something. And he was able to step in and kind of go seamlessly and move forward with the work. To me, that’s the story.”

Lombard entered Tuesday batting .294 (5-for-17) with two home runs and four runs scored in his first 20 plate appearances in MLB. He’s helped spark the Yankees offense, to be sure. But his biggest impact has been at shortstop, where his dazzling plays elicit loud gasps and thunderous applause from the home crowds on a nightly basis. Already, Lombard has accumulated 0.6 WAR in just five games, and his terrific defense has a lot to do with it. 

The Yankees are doing their best to downplay Lombard’s instant and obvious positive impact on the rest of the roster, to avoid over-hyping his future and unnecessarily increasing expectations. But it’s getting harder to ignore how much of a star he’s already been.  

“It’s not surprising coming from the family he’s from,” Goldschmidt said of Lombard. “He’s been in and out of major-league clubhouses. It’s a little bit unique, which is why those things are so valuable. He’s able to slow the game down. You know there’s going to be struggles, ups and downs. But he’s seen that, and probably knows that’s part of the game. Definitely confidence is a big thing, and he’s wise beyond his years. That’s a big reason he’s had success.”

Whether we’re analyzing the Yankees offensive struggles or Lombard’s standout play and maturity as a rookie, both pieces tie into the same reason New York has managed to remain successful in the standings without Judge. 

Their new identity is composure under pressure. They’re winning without hitting. They’re relying on sharp defense and stellar arms to keep games close. The Yankees are figuring out ways to win, while being refreshingly honest about how punchless their offense has been. That matters now, as the Yankees hold on to the top AL wild card spot, but it will matter even more in October.

Whenever Judge, Bellinger and Stanton return and the lineup is whole again, the habits that the Yankees have formed without them will only help. By then, Lombard will have settled in, and the Yankees will have proven to themselves that their late-game grit can pay off. In the long run, how New York has handled this adversity is what will determine whether the club can finally break its 17-year championship drought.

“It’s hard to go through,” Rowson said. “But you’re learning something. You learn how tough you are. You learn to fight. And there’s a lot to knowing that you have that inside of you to get where we want to go, which is to be World Series champs.”