The Yankees keep finding ways to win, and Wednesday night’s 5-3 victory over Baltimore was another example. It was their third straight win, and eight of the nine starters reached base with a hit. Will Warren only made it through four innings, but the bullpen steadied things and the Yankees finally broke a 3-3 tie in the eighth.
George Lombard Jr. was right in the middle of it again.
The 21-year-old has given this club a different feel since his call-up barely two weeks ago. He homered in his major-league debut, and now he’s turning up in meaningful August moments with the kind of play that doesn’t need to be loud to matter. In the eighth, with the game tied, Lombard chopped a ball, used his speed, and beat it out for the go-ahead RBI single.
It wasn’t flashy. It wasn’t the kind of swing that lands in a highlight reel. It was the kind of play that wins games.
That’s part of what stands out about Lombard: he doesn’t seem overwhelmed by the moment, and the Yankees appear to be feeding off that energy. There’s a liveliness to the team right now, a little more urgency in the way they’re playing, and Lombard has been a big reason for it.
Of course, when the Yankees are rolling, Aaron Boone looks like he’s got everything lined up perfectly. That’s the easy part of managing.
The real test comes when the offense goes quiet, the bullpen wobbles, and a losing streak starts to build. That’s when decisions matter most.
That’s where the concern lingers with Boone. September is coming, the pressure is going up, and every mistake is going to carry more weight.
At some point, every team hits a rough stretch. When that happens, the manager has to know how to change the feel of things, make the right calls, and stop problems before they snowball.
For now, the Yankees are winning, and they deserve credit for grinding through the issues and playing better baseball. Lombard deserves plenty of credit too, because he’s brought energy, instinct, and fearlessness to a team that needed it.
The bigger question is what happens when the Yankees stop making Boone look good. Eventually, Boone may have to make the Yankees look good.
In Other News...
Yankees Sweep Bid Comes With A New Third Base Concern
Gerrit Cole has steadied the Yankees at just the right time, stringing together four strong starts with a 1.46 ERA and no home runs allowed over 25 innings. Now he lines up to face the Orioles with Kyle Bradish on the other side, giving New York a familiar big-game pitching matchup as it tries to keep momentum rolling in a series that still carries weight in the standings and in the clubhouse.
The lineup picture, though, has another layer to it. Jose Caballero is set to start at third base with Ryan McMahon sidelined by a thumb injury, while Cody Bellinger has begun a minor league rehab assignment after a strained left hamstring. For a Yankees team trying to tighten everything up heading into a big stretch, the infield shuffle is a reminder that even when the pitching is clicking, the margins can still get a little thinner. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Fans Have Fresh Reason To Revisit That Devin Williams Trade
Nestor Cortes is officially back on the move, this time to Philadelphia on a major-league deal as he works his way back from surgery for a torn biceps tendon. He has not pitched in the majors in 2026, which adds another layer to a trade the Yankees have already had plenty of reason to revisit: the December 2024 deal that sent Cortes, Caleb Durbin and cash to Milwaukee for Devin Williams.
Williams never gave the Yankees the kind of return they had in mind, then eventually landed with the Mets, while Durbin has gone on to impress with both the Brewers and Red Sox. For New York, the trade remains tied to a familiar frustration, because it is not just about what Williams did or did not do in pinstripes - it is also about the player development and roster fit the Yankees let walk away at a time when they still search for more consistent offense. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Just Made A Telling Bet On Their Next Wave
The Yankees are already making their next long-range investment, lining up a deal in the international market that says plenty about how they want to build behind the scenes. The organization has reportedly reached a verbal pre-agreement with a teenage outfielder from the Dominican Republic, a player known for his speed, power and offensive success in his home country, even though he is still too young to sign a professional contract under MLB rules.
What makes the commitment stand out is the size of it and the timing. A promise this substantial would represent a major slice of the clubs recent international signing pool, a sign that New York is willing to keep pushing resources toward the next wave of talent while the rules around international signings could still shift in the future. [Read more 🡒]