New York Yankees rookie shortstop George Lombard Jr. took accountability for his defensive miscues after committing an error in a sixth straight game.
"It's not acceptable, can't happen at this level," Lombard said postgame following Thursday's 5-1 loss to the Houston Astros, according to SNY. "If you make your pitchers have to get extra outs, it makes it way harder on us. Others teams are going to capitalize. Something we will definitely have to clean up. And yeah, I gotta be better tomorrow."
The 21-year-old's latest fielding mistake happened in the eight inning and was partly responsible for the Astros scoring their fifth run of the game. Lombard bobbled a ground ball hit by Yainer Diaz. José Caballero was also charged with a throwing error on the play.
(Video source: MLB.com)
Lombard is the first Yankee to record an error in six consecutive contests since Roger Peckinpaugh in 1915. New York's top prospect has now accrued seven errors in 20 games since debuting in early August.
Manager Aaron Boone isn't ready to give Lombard a day off despite the defensive struggles.
"He'll get through this and put it in the rearview mirror," Boone said, according to Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News.
Offensively, Lombard has two homers with six RBIs and a .705 OPS over 72 at-bats. He collected his first career triple during Thursday's defeat.
The Yankees start a big four-game series against the Boston Red Sox on Friday. New York currently leads Boston by two games for the AL's top wild-card spot.
