The New York Yankees took two of three against the Seattle Mariners and will begin a major series on the road against a divisional rival Friday night.
New York will play the Blue Jays in Toronto during a three-game weekend set after Toronto won three of four games against the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees will look to keep their momentum going against a Blue Jays team fighting for its own playoff spot.
Ahead of the series opener, Yankees manager Aaron Boone made a notable change to his lineup involving rookie sensation George Lombard Jr.
Yankees Announce Lombard Jr. Decision
Lombard Jr. has slowly worked his way up the lineup and hit fifth in Thursday’s matchup against the Seattle Mariners.
However, Boone will move the rookie all the way back down to the No. 9 spot for Friday night’s game. Lombard Jr. will continue to start at shortstop.
Here’s the Yankees’ full lineup:
Yankees 8/14
T. Grisham CF
B. Rice DH
S. Jones RF
L. García Jr. 1B
J. Chisholm Jr. 2B
H. Ramos LF
R. McMahon 3B
A. Wells C
G. Lombard Jr. SSG. Cole SP
— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) August 14, 2026
Lombard Jr.’s 2026 Season
Lombard Jr. made his MLB debut on Aug. 4 and has already impressed Yankees fans.
He’s played in eight games, collected six runs, eight hits, two home runs and two RBIs across 29 at-bats, and posted a .276 batting average with a .827 OPS.
Yankees Right Now
New York enters Friday’s series with a 68-53 record, sitting 6.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East.
That said, the Yankees still have the second-best record in the American League. If the season ended today, they would hold the top Wild Card spot and host a best-of-three series in the Bronx against the Red Sox.
New York Yankees Announce George Lombard Jr. Decision Before Blue Jays Series