Category: Baseball

Southpaw Tarik Skubal’s experience pitching in the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field came with a hostile reception. Cubs fans booed him as he approached the bullpen gate in right field to warm up before the game. They jeered even louder and longer as he took the mound in the bottom of the first inning.

That’s what came with the “Los Angeles” scrawled across the chest of his new blue jersey. Over the weekend he’d gone from the top trade candidate in baseball, to a symbol of the Dodgers’ evil reign.

A sports betting site even seized on the moment and paid for an airplane to fly a “THE DODGERS RUINED BASEBALL” banner over Wrigley Field a few hours before the game Tuesday — although it was upside down.

As the boos quieted, he authored a quality start in his Dodgers debut. But that wasn’t enough to serve as the team’s new stopper, as the Dodgers’ offense fell flat. They stumbled to a 5-1 loss and extended their skid to a season-high five games and ensured a second straight series loss.

Read more:‘Dodgers do all the right things.’ Tarik Skubal dismisses the 'ruining baseball' critics

“There’s certainly no panic,” manager Dave Roberts said. “We’ve been through a lot of these things, this core group of guys. I think that you just got to kind of reset, flush it, find a way to win a game, and not let it just compound. But it never feels good to lose.”

The first pitch Skubal threw as a Dodger, en route to holding the Cubs to two runs and four hits in six innings, was a sinker that zipped through the top of the strike zone at 96.3 mph, according to Statcast, to get ahead in the count against Cubs MVP candidate Pete Crow-Armstrong.

For the next four pitches, he alternated between his four-seam fastball and off-speed pitches — first his changeup and then curveball. And to finish off the at-bat, he located a sinker at the bottom of the zone for a called strike three.

It was a strong first impression, and his first strikeout of six.

“Going to bed last night, excited,” Skubal said. “It felt like my major-league debut, kind of same type of vibe in terms of the nerves running through. But I think that’s all good stuff.”

Skubal retired the first six batters he faced, with the help of a sliding catch by center fielder Andy Pages and a diving grab by right fielder Kyle Tucker.

To end the second inning, Skubal got new Cub Tyrone Taylor to chase a changeup just outside. Skubal skipped backward off the mound and buried his fist in the pocket of his glove in celebration.

The next inning, Skubal wavered ever so slightly. He gave up a first-pitch solo home run to Dansby Swanson.

“I think everyone around the league and he himself would say he’s an aggressive pitcher, he comes after you,” Swanson told reporters. “ He likes to get strike one, he likes to get strike two. You’ve just got to be ready to hit pitches he may leave over the plate, and he doesn’t do that very often. He’s been so good for a reason.”

Then, after another sliding catch by Pages and a strikeout, he gave up a single to Crow-Armstrong and walked Seiya Suzuki.

In his first high-pressure situation of the night, Skubal induced Alex Bregman to fly out on a changeup.

Read more:Dodgers Debate: The Dodgers will stop at nothing to win

Then, he was back to cruising. Skubal put together perfect fourth and fifth innings.

“He creates really tough angles,” said catcher Ben Rortvedt, after his first game since the Dodgers reacquired him at the trade deadline. “Really commands the glove side really well. And his off-speed is really good, his changeup is elite. It’s two fastballs you can put on a dime. It’s just really good stuff.”

In the sixth, an unlucky bounce pushed the go-ahead run across the plate.

With one out, Skubal walked Suzuki on four pitches. Then he missed his spot with a fastball to Bregman, who roped a line drive to deep right field. Tucker tracked it back to the warning track but just missed the catch as he slammed into the wall. The double put runners on second and third.

Skubal held the Cubs at bay for one more batter by getting Michael Busch to skip a groundball to second baseman Tommy Edman, playing on the edge of the infield grass. He fired home for the second out of the inning.

Then came that dose of misfortune. Skubal’s fastball did its job, as the Cubs’ Nico Hoerner drove it into the ground. Bouncing off the plate, the ball shot up in the air, and then it settled in the grass, giving Bregman enough time to score the go-ahead run.

The Wrigley faithful turned up the heat, taunting “Skuuuuubaaaaalll.” They’d done something similar in the National League Division Series last year to Brewers ace Freddy Peralta.

“The fans are what create the environment,” Skubal said. “It’s a ton of fun to play in front of crowds like that. Even if they’re booing me or whatever it is, I think that’s what makes the game of baseball really fun, the competition really fun, and the atmosphere is really fun. I’m sure that’s not going to be the only rowdy atmosphere on the road. I plan on pitching in front of those atmospheres for the rest of the season, and then obviously, when it comes postseason time, I’ll be ready to go.”

Skubal bore down and got out of the inning with a flyout from Taylor. That changeup, designed to get him to chase, wrapped up Skubal’s outing at 85 pitches.

“For me, I want him wanting for more, feeling good,” Roberts said. “This is me still learning him. Where we’re at, I’m going to err on the side of being smart and cautious, and knowing that he can still give us more. I’m going to push him, but tonight is not the night. I just felt that that extra inning wasn’t worth the squeeze.”

When Skubal walked off the mound, his team trailed 2-1, their only run a solo homer from Tucker, who’d been booed throughout his first series back at Wrigley since departing the Cubs in free agency.

The Cubs, on the other hand, continued to rally against the Dodgers’ bullpen.

“Just a rut,” veteran leader Mookie Betts said after the loss. “It’s OK. We’re going to be OK.”

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Nate Lavender's journey to the major leagues has been nothing but a rollercoaster. 

The left-hander was drafted by the Mets in the 14th round of the 2021 MLB Draft and pitched his way up to Triple-A in 2023 and into the 2024 season. However, Lavender suffered an elbow injury that required an internal brace procedure in May of 2024, as he missed the remainder of the year. He was then selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2024 Rule 5 Draft, but remained out all of the 2025 season while recovering from surgery and was eventually returned to the Mets in November 2025 after being released by the Rays.

Since being back in New York's system this year, the 26-year-old has pitched in three minor league levels, including 25 appearances with Triple-A Syracuse. With all of the team's moves at the trade deadline on Monday, Lavender got the long-awaited call and met the team in Cleveland for Tuesday night's game against the Guardians. 

His debut came in the seventh inning as he was thrust into a tough spot with two runners on two outs. Lavender battled against former No. 1 pick Travis Bazzana and struck him out looking to hold onto the 5-2 lead. He kept it going in the eighth inning with a quick 1-2-3 frame, giving the team what interim manager Andy Green described as much-needed energy for a group with lots of new faces in the clubhouse.

“I think what really energizes a group of guys is having a guy make a debut, come in and get a huge out in a tough situation against a very good hitter. And then go back out there and throw really well the next inning," Green said. "I thought the dugout was as alive in that Nate Lavender punch-out as it’s been in some time. And I think that really, hopefully, is a catalyst for us to bring some energy with these new guys we got here. 

"And we saw a bunch of guys in different roles, they were pitching in tough situations. They did a great job, so I think everyone took some juice from that.”

After waiting years, changing teams, and battling through injuries, Lavender called his debut outing an "unbelievable" experience. Overall, he tossed 1.1 scoreless innings with a strikeout and a walk.

“Unbelievable, unbelievable," Lavender said. "I think you briefly touched on it, even though you just said that, it’s been a long journey. Drafted here in ‘21, in the system, spent some time in Tampa, dealt with some injuries and stuff. All of that doesn’t matter. It’s part of the journey and it feels absolutely unbelievable, man.”

Nate Lavender says it felt "unbelievable" to be able to make his big-league debut tonight pic.twitter.com/PVzhpXpVec

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) August 5, 2026

Green also highlighted Lavender's poise in the high-leverage situation, noting that the team can't afford to ease new players in and that he stepped up to the challenge.

“The same heartbeat we’ve always seen from him," Green said. "I think that you, especially in relievers, have to be able to trust the heartbeat. And he was able to slow that game down. That was a big punch-out with two guys on. He just walked off the mound like he’d been doing it for a long time. I tried to tell him as quickly as possible he was going back out. There’s a lot of guys that will mentally shut down and call that a debut.

"We didn’t soft-serve him at all. I just don’t think there’s a good way to do that with the group we have right now, we got to pitch them as they are. He did a great job in a pocket he should excel in; he did.”

Green added: “No change in demeanor, completely calm, completely fine. Walked through, shook the hands with teammates. Saw him sit down on the bench and lock back in like he’s done a thousand times.”

Lavender later told reporters how his family traveled from Syracuse to Cleveland by train and made it there around 5 a.m. He thanked everyone in his life for support throughout his journey, helping him stay focused and positive at all times.

“Spending two years on the shelf is a lot of ups and downs," Lavender said. "Obviously the first Tommy John at the beginning of ‘24, nobody likes it. You rehab, you keep going, and then bang, another surgery. I was talking to my wife the other day, some of my friends too, you have to enjoy the small moments. If I can’t throw in a game, I can go attack this throwing program just exactly like I would with same mentality. Obviously my family, too. My wife, Emma, is absolutely amazing, really encouraging.

"That’s sort of how I’ve attacked the last couple of years. Now we’re here.”

The Mets will need that energy and mindset down the stretch of the 2026 season, and the lefty hopes to keep his story going by continuing to help the team any way possible.

“Just want to keep rolling, keep contributing, and keep winning ballgames, man. Let’s keep cruising.”

What can you even say at this point? Normally, I love doing a big, deep dive analysis in these game recaps, but tonight we’re going straight to the highlights because this was a complete ass-whipping and doesn’t need any further introduction.

So here we go, starting with the Willson Contreras single that got things started in the first.

The big blast came later in the inning from Caleb Durbin. Here’s his grand slam to make it 5-0:

Jarren Duran then immediately added another homer for good measure. (Random side note: He looked very relaxed tonight, and it wouldn’t shock me if he feels relief after not being traded. Something to watch if he starts heating up out of nowhere.)

From there, the most notable additional swings came off the bat of Wilyer Abreu. Specifically, he blasted a pair of bombs to deep centerfield in the fifth an eighth inning that went a combined 849 feet. Here are those highlights:

And all that completely omits the sixth inning, in which the Red Sox put up another six-spot to match the first inning. Here’s my favorite highlight from that rally (I always love when balls rattle around in the garage door)

Again, there’s not much to add to this one in terms of situational analysis. If you REALLY want to get picky (and my cynical ass does), you could try and nitpick Patrick Sandoval for not throwing enough strikes (he walked four guys and only threw 56 percent of his pitches for strikes), but he still managed to make it through five innings and not force the bullpen to cover too much ground.

This biggest thing to take away from this game is the same thing we should be taking away from the entire hot streak. Just enjoy it! What we’re witnessing here is something you may never see again. This team was dead in the water 14 games under .500, and now they’re ten games over at 61-51 with a boatload of talent still sitting on the IL and look like a bigger juggernaut by the day. Like, what? I’ve watched every single game of this turnaround, and I still can’t believe or explain it.

Nothing makes sense right now, and that’s a major reason why it’s so awesome. This is the type of run you tell future generations about, so soak it in as much as you can. THIS is the good stuff!

Three (Group) Studs

You could have about ten studs in this game, so let’s cheat and put them in three groups.

The guys who went deep: Caleb Durbin (grand slam), Wilyer Abreu (two bombs), and Jarren Duran (still alive).

The guys who hit with runners in scoring position: The team went 8-12 with runners in scoring position, and seven different guys had at least one run RBI. Ceddanne Rafaela, Masataka Yoshida, Willson Contreras, and Andruw Monasterio all knocked in runs without going deep.

The notable relievers: Erik Miller made a successful Red Sox debut striking out Tristan Peters to end the sixth (Chad Tracy called it a “soft landing” in the postgame), and then Brayan Bello threw three scoreless innings to close things out. For Bello, this both kept all the other high leverage relivers rested, and also sustained sub 1.00 ERA out of the bullpen. (Another thing that doesn’t make any sense, but we’re just gonna stick with because it’s working insanely well.)

Two Duds

Connor Wong: An 0-4 night at the plate and the only Sox starter without a knock. There’s a reason this team traded for Adley Rutschman (who was in the dugout chatting it up with multiple starters tonight).

The challengers: Both teams burned both of their challenges by the sixth inning. Home plate umpire  Brennan Miller was on his game tonight, and if this thing was remotely close, he would’ve had all the high leverage calls to himself.

Play of the game:

It’s Durbin’s grand slam. Might as well watch it again. This freaking team man. I’m speechless!

The Royals got on the board first tonight against Joe Ryan. A pair of singles followed by a sac-fly RBI by Salvador Perez got the job done. Then, Michael Massey ripped a double to left-center to make it 2-0, Royals.

The Twins, who struggled against Randy Dobnak the last time they faced him, continued those struggles tonight. They finally got a run in the 4th inning after loading the bases with 1-out, on an Alan Roden sac-fly. Luke Keaschall would ground out to end the threat, however.

In the bottom of the 5th, the Royals, with the help of bad Twins defense, put together a 3-run inning. With 1 out, they got a single and a walk, then Bobby Witt Jr. doubled, scoring two. Witt would move to 3rd as Ryan Kreidler’s throw home sailed over Ryan Jeffers’ head. Witt then scored on the next at bat, on a grounder to 1st, beating the throw home by Royce Lewis. That gave the Royals a 5-1 lead.

It was a third rough start in a row by Joe Ryan, who exited after getting 1 out in the 6th and walking Isaac Collins. His final line was: 5.1 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K. His stuff just doesn’t seem to be getting him enough strikeouts lately. Kody Funderburk did a good job, cleaning up the 6th inning and tossing a clean 7th as well.

In the top of the 8th, finally working against the Royals bullpen, Josh Bell made some noise with a leadoff solo homer, his 14th of the year. Alas, no rally was sparked by this rally killer.

Travis Adams was tasked with the 8th inning. Perez doubled, then, after a fly out, Nick Loftin walked. Then Collins grounded out to 3B. Taylor Rogers entered, the Royals countered with pinch hitter Starling Marte, who hit a 2-run double to center. Then Kyle Isbel hit an RBI single to make it an 8-2 game, and that was the final. Another disappointing game for a team that bought at the deadline.

Studs:

Royce Lewis: 4-4, 2B, great leaping catch

Kody Funderburk: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 K

Duds:

Joe Ryan: 5.1 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

Ryan Kreidler: 0-3, K, E

Ryan Jeffers: 0-5, K

Brooks Lee: 0-3, BB, K, E

Travis Adams: 0.2 IP, H, 2 ER, BB

Taylor Rogers: 0.1 IP, 2 H, ER, BB

Tarik Skubal had a perfectly fine Dodgers debut with six strikeouts in six strong innings. But the Dodgers couldn’t score much at all, while the Cubs offense did just enough off Skubal then teed off on the bullpen in a 5-1 win at Wrigley Field, the season-worst fifth straight loss for the Dodgers.

Skubal allowed a home run to Dansby Swanson in the third inning, his only hit allowed the first time through the order. He struck out six, finishing off two of them with changeups, two more with four-seam fastballs, and one each with his sinker and curveball.

Dodgers defenders made several sharp plays behind Skubal, including two sliding catches in the outfield by Andy Pages and one by Kyle Tucker through the first three innings.

But in the sixth inning, a fly ball to deep right field by Alex Bregman that Tucker appeared to have a beat on simply dropped behind him for a double instead of an out. That put two runners in scoring position with one out. Tommy Edman with the infield in snagged a grounder and threw home to prevent a run from scoring, but a Baltimore chop in the infield into no-man’s land behind the mound to second base fell for a Nico Horner single to score the go-ahead run.

Skubal was only at 85 pitches through six innings, but that was it for him, albeit after a stressful sixth inning, even with the bottom of the Cubs order due up in the seventh.

Alex Vesia allowed a double and single to his three batters faced, allowing two insurance runs in that seventh inning that essentially put the game away given how the Dodgers offense was going on Tuesday.

Hoerner homered in the eighth inning off Edwin Díaz — pitching while down three runs just to get some work after the last four days off, and also allowed a walk and single.

Dodgers relievers allowed five hits and a walk while recording six outs, matching the Dodgers reaching base on offense in nine innings.

Home on the road

It’s been a trying season for Tucker, who has struggled two thirds into his first season with the Dodgers, and even heard boos on Tuesday in his first game back in Chicago since playing for the Cubs last year. Things are going so poorly that Tucker even took an accidental throw from catcher Miguel Amaya off the helmet while standing in the batters box on Tuesday.

But Tucker silenced the boos momentarily with a home run in the second inning to open the scoring.

Eight of Tucker’s 10 home runs have been hit on the road, where he’s hitting .277/.377/.461, compared to just .209/.302/.300 at Dodger Stadium. His 126 wRC+ away from home entering Tuesday was more in line with Tucker’s overall career 133 wRC+.

Hit to left center, it was the only home run this season that Tucker didn’t pull.

Tucker also singled, giving him two hits in the series, and consecutive multi-hit games for the first time since April 3-4 in Washington D.C.

Catcher if you can

Ben Rortvedt started and caught the first seven innings, and fellow Tuesday addition Hunter Feduccia caught the eighth inning. That gave the Dodgers six different catchers used this season, matching 1976 as the most backstops in a season since moving to Los Angeles in 1958.

The Dodgers in 1976 saw Steve Yeager start 108 games behind the plate, Ellie Rodriguez start 21 games, Kevin Pasley 20, Joe Ferguson 12, and Ted Sizemore once, in addition to Sergio Robles catching 16 innings over six games in reserve.

Tuesday particulars

Home runs: Kyle Tucker (10); Dansby Swanson (17), Nico Hoerner (7)

WP — Javier Assad (7-1): 5 2/3 IP, 4 hits, 1 run, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts

LP — Tarik Skubal (7-6): 6 IP, 4 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts

Up next

The series finale at Wrigley Fields is back under the Chicago sun on Wednesday (11:20 a.m. PT; SportsNet LA, MLB Network). Eric Lauer takes the ball on getaway day, with fellow southpaw Shota Imanaga pitching for Chicago.

It seems baseball has a new set of bash brothers.

Minutes before George Lombard Jr. endeared himself to Yankees fans with a home run in his first MLB game Tuesday night against the Cardinals, younger brother Jacob Lombard also made a strong impression in his professional debut.

Jacob, a fellow shortstop who was drafted 14th overall by the Marlins last month, homered in his second at-bat with the Jupiter Hammerheads, Miami’s Single-A affiliate.

After walking in his first career plate appearance, Jacob led off the top of the third inning versus Palm Beach Cardinals’ right-handed pitcher Peyton Graham, taking a 1-0 slider deep to left field.

Moments later, George took an 0-2 sweeper from St. Louis right-hander Hunter Dobbins deep to left field.

Not only did the brothers homer to left field in their respective debuts, while facing a team named the Cardinals, but their bombs were nearly identical.

Jacob’s blast had an exit velocity of 99.9 mph with a 33-degree launch angle while George’s left the bat at 100.2 mph — also with a 33-degree launch angle.

“It’s hard to put into words,” Jacob told FishOnFirst’s Nate Karzmer after the game. “That’s pretty ridiculous, I’m jaw-dropped. I don’t even know how it’s possible.”

It capped off a banner night for the Lombard family as Tigers coach George Lombard Sr. and his wife, Judy Lombard, were in attendance in The Bronx to see their son’s memorable debut.

But, if not for George’s late-night call-up on Monday night, they would have been in Florida to see Jacob also go deep in his debut.

“The family was planning on going to watch Jacob down in Jupiter,” Lombard Jr. told reporters at Yankee Stadium. “But my brother was like, ‘You gotta go up there.’

“So plans kind of changed.”

Judy Lombard revealed during a YES Network interview that she had just “bought my tickets” for Jacob’s debut before learning her son, ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Yankees’ top prospect, was getting called up to The Show.

Lombard Jr.’s home run, and some spectacular defensive plays at shortstop, powered the Yankees’ 2-0 win against the Cardinals.

The younger Lombard finished 1-for-4 with the homer as Jupiter won 6-3.

“You don’t ever get these days back,” Lombard Sr. said from his seat in Yankee Stadium. “This was as emotional as any day we’ve had with our boys.”

It’s go time for Roch Cholowsky.  

After being selected first overall by the White Sox, Cholowsky officially began his professional career with Winston-Salem on Tuesday night. He started at shortstop and batted second for the Dash, reaching base once via a walk in five plate appearances. It wasn’t much, but there were definitely some positive signs for the 21-year-old in his affiliate debut.

Since Chicago selected Cholowsky in the MLB draft back on July 11, it’s been a whirlwind month for the No. 1 pick. Cholowsky spent a week in the organization’s draft-eligible athletes camp in Charlotte before spending two weeks in Arizona working out and playing in Bridge League games, where he hit his first career pro home run on Saturday.

His performance on the field has drawn rave reviews, and the same can be said for what he’s done away from the ballpark.

Reports from inside the organization describe Cholowsky as every bit as impressive in the clubhouse as he is between the lines. He welcomed his fellow draftees to his Arizona home and even treated all 25 of them to a steak dinner. White Sox director of hitting Ryan Fuller recently said Cholowsky has a natural presence about him, and by all accounts, he has quickly earned the respect of teammates and coaches alike. As Chris Getz and the front office continue emphasizing culture throughout the organization, those leadership qualities may prove nearly as valuable as his considerable talent.

As for the debut itself, the nerves were understandable.

Cholowsky’s first professional at-bat lasted just three pitches, ending with a strikeout.

His second trip to the plate was a much better representation of the hitter the White Sox believe they drafted. With runners on first and second and one out, he patiently worked the count to 3-0, fouled off the fourth pitch with an exit velocity of 111 mph, then rolled a grounder to second on the fifth pitch. While it went into the books as an out, the quality of the at-bat was encouraging, especially after making such a quick adjustment from his first plate appearance.

He reached base for the first time as a professional in his third at-bat, drawing a six-pitch walk with a little help from a generous strike zone. In the seventh inning, he jumped on the first pitch he saw and flew out to center.

With the game tied, 2-2, in the bottom of the ninth, Winston-Salem had a chance to walk it off. With Kaleb Freeman on first with two outs, Cholowsky stepped to the plate looking for a storybook ending. Instead, he fouled off the first two pitches before striking out swinging to end the frame and push the contest to extras.

It wasn’t the dream debut every No. 1 overall pick imagines, but one night is not going to define Cholowsky’s career. If anything, Tuesday simply marked the beginning. Over the next five weeks, White Sox fans will get their first extended look at one of Chicago’s brightest young talents, and there should be plenty of memorable moments still to come.

Blake Snell took another step toward rejoining the Dodgers starting rotation on Tuesday night, pitching 3 2/3 innings in his fourth and potentially final minor league rehab start, this time for Triple-A Oklahoma City on the road to face the Salt Lake Bees, and Angels affiliate.

This was a labored effort for Snell, who allowed a leadoff home run, one of two longballs he gave up on Tuesday. Snell also walked four. That drove up Snell’s pitch count to 73 in 3 2/3 innings in a start the Dodgers hoped to see Snell complete five innings.

Prior to Tuesday, Snell had excellent control on this rehab assignment, walking only one of his 29 batters faced in his first three starts, the free pass coming on July 18 for Oklahoma City in Tacoma.

Snell just four pitches into the game, after the leadoff home run by Kyren Paris, had issue with the landing spot for his front foot on the mound. The grounds crew fixed the dirt and he didn’t appear to have any problems with his delivery after that, though he did walk the aforementioned four batters after that happened.

A 27-pitch second inning didn’t help Snell’s effort to pitch deeper into the game. Two of his three strikeouts came in the fourth inning, his final frame.

Whether this was enough for the Dodgers to activate Snell next week or if he gets another rehab start remains to be seen.

Welcome back to BCB After Dark: the coolest spot for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come one in and cool off with us. We’ve always got room for a friendly face. There’s no cover charge. The dress code is casual. The hostess will seat you now. Bring your own beverage.

BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.

Sorry we were closed last night, but it was kind of a hectic day around here. We warned you that might happen.

On Tuesday nights, I don’t do a movie piece. But I always have time for jazz, so let’s take a break for that now.

Tonight we’re featuring Jamaican pianist Monty Alexander performing one of the greatest Jamaican songs of all time, Bob Marley’s “No Woman, No Cry.”

Welcome back to everyone who skips the music.

I can’t stop thinking about the Cubs’ newest reliever, Ryan Zeferjahn. I think the Cubs traded for a player just before he’s about to explode and I was wondering if you feel the same.

I have to admit that I was only slightly familiar with Zeferjahn before yesterday. I’d seen him pitch once or twice and I knew he had nasty stuff, but that he also struggled with control. But I believe there are reasons to think that Zeferjahn has turned a corner this year towards becoming an elite closer.

Zeferjahn has always thrown hard and his four-seam fastball still averages over 97 miles per hour. He’s also got a sinker with little more movement on it that comes in at 96 mph.

But Zeferjahn’s big pitch is his hard-breaking sweeper, that is absolutely filthy. It has an outstanding 14.8 inches of break and 5.8 inches of “rise.” Since last year, he’s added about two miles per hour, from 83 mph to 85, and is commanding it much better. It’s also become his primary pitch, with him throwing it 37 percent of the time.

One other thing that Zeferjahn has done this year is junk is cutter, which he no longer throws. It wasn’t a good pitch and he didn’t command it well.

Here’s 90-seconds of highlights of Zeferjahn. They’re all good, but the first 45 seconds are from previous seasons and the second half are from this year. If you notice, this year’s pitches are tighter and appear much closer to the strike zone.

This year, Zeferjahn is 4-3 with four saves and a 3.66 ERA. He’s struck out a whopping 75 batters in just 51.2 innings. That’s a 33.5 strikeout percentage. Opposing hitters manage just a .163 batting average against Zeferjahn this year.

But what about the walks? Yeah, Zeferjahn has walked too many batters. Control has been an issue. In those 51.2 innings, he’s walked 32, which is a poor 14.3 percent.

But lets look at what Zeferjahn has done month to month

March/April: 30.0 K%. 11.4 BB%.

May: 20.4 K%. 20.4 BB%.

June: 41.8 K%. 21.8 BB%.

July: 39.5 K% 4.7 BB%.

Look at those July numbers. Small sample size, but that’s beyond elite. He’s also struck out four and walked no one in 1.2 innings in August.

So how does that translate to results:

March/April: 5.51 ERA. 2.36 FIP

May: 6.75 ERA. 9.63 FIP.

June: 0.66 ERA. 2.37 FIP

July: 2.53 ERA. 3.47 FIP

August is -1.70 FIP but it’s five batters.

So all of this is a small sample size, but Zeferjahn look to me like a very good but not quite elite reliever in the second half. The stuff is there for him to take it to that elite level as well.

It’s not just me who thinks this. See what MLB dot com’s stat guy Mike Petriello said about him today.

So tonight’s question is will Zeferjahn be the Cubs primary closer the rest of the season? We all know that the Cubs have been going with matchups in the ninth inning since Daniel Palencia got injured, but that’s out of necessity rather than a plan. The Cubs don’t have a shutdown guy in the ninth. Unless Zeferjahn is that guy.

Since the middle of June, Zeferjahn had been getting a lot more opportunities close out games in Anaheim. Now he only has four saves because how many save opportunities do the Angels get? But Fangraphs has Zeferjahn giving up a .108 batting average and a 549 OPS in “high leverage” situations this year.

So are you as enthusiastic about Ryan Zeferjahn as I am? Do you think he’ll get the majority of saves through the rest of the season?

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Box Score

Logan Henderson and Jared Jones are two of the brighter young pitching stars in the league. Both 24 years old, each has had a lot of early success while working around injuries, and both have a bright future. Tonight, though, a struggling Brewers offense figured Jones out, and while Henderson wasn’t perfect, he limited damage and ended up matching his career-long outing with six innings and just two runs allowed. The Brewer bullpen, aided by one of their new pickups, did the rest. On the other side of the ball, the Brewers got an extremely encouraging game from a guy they’re going to desperately need, Jackson Chourio, as the team picked up a relatively comfortable 4-2 victory and became the first team in the league to reach 70 wins.

Henderson took a minute to find it at the beginning of the game and walked the leadoff hitter, Jake Mangum, on four pitches. He had no trouble after that, though, and got out of the inning by striking out Brandon Lowe, getting a near-double-play groundout from Bryan Reynolds, and striking out Esmerlyn Valdez. In the bottom of the inning, Chourio lined a 109-mph one-out single to right, and Garrett Mitchell also hit a ball hard, though his 107-mph exit velocity came on a ground ball that he just barely beat out, staying out of a double play. William Contreras flew out to center, and we were off.

Henderson worked through an easy second inning with no blemishes. The kids in Milwaukee’s order tried to put together a two-out rally in the bottom of the second; Luis Lara came back from an 1-2 count to draw a walk, and Cooper Pratt followed with a grounder to third that Jacob Gonzalez couldn’t handle for an infield hit. But David Hamilton flew out to second, and the Brewers failed to come through on their first opportunity with a runner in scoring position tonight.

Gonzalez was responsible for the game’s first run when he led off the third with an absolute rocket out to the Pittsburgh bullpen on a first-pitch, 91-mph fastball that Henderson left right over the middle. Henderson recovered to retire the side, working around a two-out single by Lowe.

The Brewers had the top of the order up in the bottom of the third, and with one out, the Brewers had a quick response when Chourio also took aim at the Pittsburgh bullpen for a 399-foot opposite-field shot. It was his first home run in exactly a month, having last done so on the Fourth of July in Phoenix. After a Mitchell strikeout, Contreras extended the inning with a single through the left side, but a Yelich groundout ended the inning. Milwaukee had fought back, though, and it was back to a tie game.

After another three-up, three-down inning for Henderson, the Brewers took their first lead of the series when Andrew Vaughn led off the bottom of the fourth with a home run to dead center, 417 feet and 107 mph off the bat, his fifth of the season. Lara worked another good at-bat before lining out to Reynolds in deep left, and Pratt followed with a good at-bat of his own in which he fought off a couple of tough pitches while behind in the count before lining a solid single to center. Hamilton then followed with a sneak-attack drag bunt on the first pitch he saw, and the Brewers had runners on first and second with one out for the top of the order.

Turang flew out pretty deeply into the left-field corner for the second out, but luckily the Brewers were apparently getting a locked-in Chourio tonight. He lined a two-strike pitch up the middle for a two-out, RBI single, his third hit of the night at at least 99.8 mph (in just the fourth inning!). Mitchell struck out on a check swing, but the Brewers were up 3-1.

Unfortunately, this time the Pirates had an immediate response. Endy Rodríguez led off the fifth with a skyscraping homer that just snuck inside the right-field foul pole that halved the Brewer lead. During Gonzalez’s ensuing at-bat, some confusion around a strike call (which the home-plate ump, James Hoye, hesitated on, and then denied a challenge on) made Pirates manager Don Kelly mad. After Gonzalez flew out to right, Kelly kept barking, got tossed, and got aggressively into Hoye’s face before leaving. Mangum singled with two outs to keep the inning going, prompting a visit from Chris Hook, but Henderson struck out Lowe to end the inning with the score 3-2 Brewers.

Jones was done after four innings, nice work by the Brewer lineup; he’d allowed eight hits, a walk, and three runs in his four innings and needed 83 pitches to do it. He was replaced by Wilber Dotel, who gave up a leadoff single to Contreras in almost the exact spot that he hit his last one, between shortstop and third base. After a Yelich strikeout, Vaughn drew a walk to put two on with one out, and Lara came through with a single past a drawn-in Gonzalez at third for an RBI single. Pratt popped out and Hamilton struck out to end the inning, but the lead was back to two runs.

After he struck out the side in the top of the sixth, Henderson was through six innings for just the second time this season and third time in his career, with an efficient 83 pitches. The three strikeouts did end his evening; though Henderson gave up a couple of longballs tonight, he did so with no one on base, and he struck out eight while allowing four hits and a walk in those six innings. Another really good outing for Henderson.

Dotel continued in the bottom of the inning, and in the first pitch of the frame, Turang reached on an infield single which second baseman Nick Gonzales dove for and knocked down but couldn’t handle. Chourio nearly got around on a fastball in off the plate, but it jammed him just enough that it ended up as a flyout to center. Mitchell struck out looking for his third strikeout of the game, and Contreras — aiming for the same spot between shortstop and third — couldn’t sneak this one through, and grounded out to end the inning.

On for his Brewers debut in the top of the seventh was yesterday’s less-heralded pickup, Antonio Senzatela. He got his first guy, Gonzales, but walked the next, Rodríguez, and started Gonzalez with a couple of balls, too. But Senzatela worked back into the count with a couple of foul balls and then got out of his first inning as a Brewer with a 6-4-3 double play.

Yohan Ramírez set the Brewers down in order in the bottom of the seventh, and Abner Uribe was on in relief of Senzatela in the top of the eighth. He got off to a rough start by hitting Jared Triolo, the Pirates’ No. 9 hitter, with a 1-1 pitch. Uribe struck out Mangum for the first out, but Lowe hit a line drive toward the right-field gap. Lara did well to cut it off, holding Triolo at third and Lowe to a single, but the Pirates were in business with runners on the corners and one out.

But Uribe locked in. After a visit from Hook, Uribe struck out Reynolds on three pitches (with the aid of a successful challenge by Contreras on an 0-2 pitch that was initially called a ball), and he struck out Valdez, too, this time with an unsuccessful Pirates challenge.

Pittsburgh got their first look at one of their new deadline pickups, Kirby Yates, in the bottom of the eighth. He had no trouble: Pratt started things with good contact but a flyout to center, Hamilton got under a ball and flew out to right, and Turang flew out to shallow left.

On for his first save opportunity since July 25, Trevor Megill took most of the drama out of it. Spencer Horwitz grounded out, and things got a little scary when Gonzales hit a fly ball into the gap in right — Mitchell made the catch but nearly ran over Lara in doing so, and Mitchell was clearly annoyed that Lara didn’t get out of the way sooner. A Rodríguez pop-up ended the game, with the Brewers winning 4-2.

Milwaukee only scored four runs in this game, but the offense showed a little more life today, to the tune of 11 hits and a couple of homers. Particularly encouraging was Chourio, who hit the ball hard all night and finished 3-for-4 with a solo home run and a clutch RBI single. Vaughn added the Brewers’ other homer, while Pratt and Contreras both hit a pair of singles. Every Brewer in the lineup had at least one hit except for Mitchell and Yelich, while five Brewers (Chourio, Vaughn, Pratt, Contreras, and Lara) reached base at least twice.

On the other side, Henderson kept rolling, and the Brewers’ bullpen made things boring down the stretch. If anything, this felt like a game that Milwaukee should’ve won by more — they were far better offensively, even if the end result was close. It was a nice bounce-back victory after the disappointing loss last night and an early deficit tonight.

The series continues tomorrow with a notable pitching matchup. On the mound for the Pirates is ace Paul Skenes, while for the Brewers, Kyle Harrison is scheduled to make his return after a nearly month-long absence. That game is at 6:40 p.m.; we’ll see you then.

Two win streaks entered, and one had to snap. And thankfully, your Atlanta Braves took the series opener versus the Miami Marlins to win six games straight, matching a season-high mark from April. The Marlins’ fledgling streak ends at three as the Braves hang on to win 4-2 amid some late inning tomfoolery. 

That win-streak tension carried over into a pitching duel between starters Grant Holmes and Ryan Gusto.

Gusto had previously given up twelve (12) earned runs in 9.1 innings pitched against the Braves in his career. One year later, he turned in a quality start and best performance of the season by going six strong. With their five hits against him, the Braves had opportunities to do more damage, but went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position. 

But Ozzie Albies did the damage that mattered for the majority of the game.

Ozzie sent the first pitch he saw 100.1 mph / 397 feet to the Chop House to make it 1-0 Braves. We love him.

Grant Holmes had not gotten past five innings since June 3 and heard all your slander. While he also gave up five hits, like Gusto, a different pitch mix (more sinker/curveball, less fastball) and the good variety of Braves defense helped him spin six scoreless innings. His efficiency allowed him to come back out in the seventh inning, but the leash was short: a leadoff single to Heriberto Hernández prompted Walt Weiss to make the change. Dylan Dodd quickly induced a lineout and a double play to keep Holmes’ line intact: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, and all on 72 pitches. More of that, Grant, and we’ll tone down the bullpen talk (maybe).

Other changes in the seventh: the lefty John King came in to relieve Gusto. Instead of Mike Yastrzemski, Mauricio Dubón came in and flew out to left to lead things off and remained in left field for the rest of the game.

Lane Thomas, making his Braves debut, came in as a pinch-hitter in place of the DH Dom Smith. And what a way to do it – he swung at the first pitch for what looked like a routine grounder, but a throwing error by shortstop Otto Lopez allowed him to reach. Lane’s hustle immediately paid off when Austin Riley (!) sent a ball flying into the seats in left center to make it 3-0 Braves. Welcome to the A, Mr. Thomas!

Dylan Dodd gave way to Dylan Lee, who allowed a single but nothing else in the top of the eighth. 

Ronald Acuña Jr. had been hitting the ball well all night, and finally had one find some grass with a leadoff single off old friend Victor Vodnik in the bottom of the eighth. Vodnik loaded the bases after a low slider grazed Matt Olson and a Michael Harris II walk. Ozzie struck out, but Ronald would come home to score on a wild pitch. Vodnik settled in to get Dubón to ground out and Thomas to fly out to right to end the inning. 

There was double-barrel action in the Braves bullpen in the bottom of the eighth – both Raisel Iglesias and Tyler Kinley were throwing. History shows that if they’d gotten more than one run out of the bases-loaded eighth, we probably would’ve seen Kinley. But since the Braves only tacked on one additional run to make it 4-0, it was the closer Iglesias who came out to get the final three outs.

“Iggy, I know it’s not a save situation but can we do this normal, please?” I implored.

“Girl, you wish,” Iggy seemingly said. “I live for the drama.”

And drama we had. All Otto Lopez does is hit, so his leadoff ground-rule double wasn’t a complete surprise. Iggy got Owen Caissie to fly out on the first pitch, so… maybe it would be normal after all. Loud incorrect buzzer.

A walk by Heriberto Hernández and a single by Jakob Marsee put a Marlin on every base. After fouling a ball off his foot worse than Ozzie did earlier, Leo Jiménez one-upped Ozzie again by not striking out after the injury delay. He instead singled to left, ending the shutout and making it 4-2. Agustín Ramírez, who entered in the top of the eighth as a pinch-hitter for catcher Joe Mack, flew out to left for a big second out. Nine-hole hitter Javier Sanoja strolled to the plate representing the go-ahead run. He stared at two strikes, futilely challenging the second. But the third pitch of the at-bat was outside, and Drake Baldwin fired it to Austin Riley to catch Jakob Marsee stealing and end the game. One failed Marlins challenge later, that’s a Braves win. We had it all the way. 

Needed that one to fully put yesterday behind us. The Braves improve to 68-45 and are back at the same time tomorrow to hopefully win the series behind Bryce Elder.

CLEVELAND — Name tags might have been appropriate within the Mets clubhouse Tuesday, a day after president of baseball operations David Stearns finished his trade deadline sell-off.

The anonymous new Mets included Nate Lavender, Jefry Yan and Chayse McDermott. More familiar — yet largely forgotten — names such as Dedniel Núñez and Cristian Pache also arrived.

Life after Luke Weaver, Huascar Brazobán and Brooks Raley, to name a few, wasn’t so bad for the Mets on this night, who received three home runs and strong work from one of the bullpen newcomers in a 6-2 victory over the Guardians at Progressive Field.

Luis Torrens, Bo Bichette and Carson Benge all went deep to help the Mets end a three-game losing streak.

Lavender, in his major league debut, pitched 1 ¹/₃ scoreless innings to resume where Raley and A.J. Minter — the two lefty relievers traded by the Mets in recent days — left off.

“It’s been a long journey,” said Lavender, a 26-year-old who was drafted by the team in 2021 and departed through the Rule 5 draft before undergoing Tommy John surgery with the Rays and returning to the Mets.

Interim manager Andy Green summoned Lavender in the seventh with the tying run at the plate. Lavender struck out Travis Bazzana to end the inning.

“I think what really energizes a group of guys is having a guy make a debut, come in and get a huge out in a tough situation against a very good hitter and then go out there and throw really well the next inning,” Green said. “I thought the dugout was as alive in that Nate Lavender punch-out as it’s been in some time and I think that hopefully is a catalyst to bring some energy with these new guys we have got here.

“We saw a bunch of guys in different roles that are pitching in tough situations. They did a great job, so I think everybody took some juice from that.”

The new-look bullpen included Kodai Senga shifted from long relief to pitching the ninth. The right-hander worked a scoreless inning.

The Mets received a third straight solid outing from Sean Manaea, but the left-hander lived dangerously: he allowed seven hits and five walks, yielding two runs over six innings with seven strikeouts. It was Manaea’s third straight start pitching six innings and allowing two earned runs or fewer.

“They put the pressure on early and often and to be able to navigate it like that was a lot of fun,” Manaea said. “That’s everything I have always dreamed of — just to be able to go out there and pitch and navigate a lineup like that. I was just really proud of myself.”

Torrens blasted a three-run homer in the second inning to get the Mets started. The homer was the third season for Torrens, whose playing time behind the plate has increased, sliding Francisco Alvarez into an occasional DH role. Alvarez started at DH on this night.

Bichette homered on the first pitch of the third inning to extend the Mets’ lead to 4-0. Bichette’s blast was his 11th this season.

After the Guardians scored a run on Angel Martinez’s RBI double in the third, the Mets countered in the fourth. They took a 5-1 lead on Torrens’ RBI single after Marcus Semien had walked leading off the inning and advanced to second on a groundout.

Manaea surrendered an RBI single to Bazzana in the fifth that sliced the Mets’ lead to 5-2. Manaea allowed a walk and single before Bazzana delivered.

Benge smashed a 451-foot homer to center field in the eighth inning to give the Mets a 6-2 lead. The homer was Benge’s 12th this season.

Green said bench coach Kai Correa, a former Guardians coach, doubted that Benge’s ball be a homer based on the area of the ballpark to which it was hit.

“I love it when Kai’s wrong, because it doesn’t happen often,” Green said. “That was a fun one to talk about. [Benge] absolutely crushed it.”

OK. I’m going to try to get all the player movement today. If I miss someone, I’m sorry. But the Cubs have to fill in for all the players who were traded yesterday.

Left-hander Braxton Garrett joins Triple-A Iowa.

Right-hander Andrew Wantz elected free agency.

Right-hander Tyler Santana was promoted from Double-A Knoxville to Iowa.

Left-hander Evan Taylor also promoted from Knoxville to Iowa.

Outfielder Jordan Nwogu was activated off the 60-day injured list and promoted from Knoxville to Iowa.

Shortstop Ed Howard was promoted from Knoxville to Iowa.

Catcher Daniel Campos promoted from Mesa to Iowa.

Outfielder Kane Kepley was promoted from High-A South Bend to Knoxville.

Left-hander Jackson Brockett was promoted from South Bend to Knoxville.

Second baseman Dom Krupinski was promoted from Low-A Myrtle Beach to Knoxville.

Outfielder Alexey Lumpuy promoted from Myrtle Beach to South Bend.

Right-hander Braylon Myers also promoted from Myrtle Beach to South Bend.

Catcher Brennen Hudson promoted from Mesa to South Bend. Hudson was the Cubs’ 20th-round draft pick this year.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs got blitzed by Indianapolis (Pirates), 14-1.

Stater Jaxon Wiggins took the loss after allowing five runs on two hits over 2.2 innings. As normal lately, control was the problem for Wiggins as he walked six. He struck out four.

The I-Cubs had four hits. DH Owen Ayers went 1 for 3 with a doule and a walk.

Here’s the only Iowa run on an RBI single by third baseman Owen Miller. He was 1 for 4.

Knoxville Smokies

Rained out. Doubleheader tomorrow.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs popped the Cedar Rapids Kernels (Twins), 6-0.

Jostin Florentino gave the Cubs five scoreless innings and got the win. He allowed five hits. Florentino struck out four and walked no one, but he did hit one batter.

Yoendris Gonzalez gave the Cubs 2.2 scoreless and Ethan Bell retired all four batters he faced to complete the shutout. Bell struck out three.

Right fielder Jose Escobar had a home run washed out by rain on Sunday, so he cranked a solo shot in the fourth inning today. It was Escobar’s fifth South Bend home run and seventh overall. Escobar went 1 for 4.

South Bend scored four runs in the seventh inning on two two-run home runs. Second baseman Matt Hallquist hit the first one, his fifth on the year. Hallquist was was 1 for 4.

First baseman. Josiah Hartshorn went the other way for the other home run in the seventh. It was Hartshorn’s 17th home run and 12 with South Bend. Hartshorn went 1 for 2 with two walks.

Escobar’s home run.

The Hallquist home run.

The Cubs’ top prospect goes deep again.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Pelicans and the Fireflies were still scoreless in the third inning when the rains came. They’ll finish this one tomorrow followed by a seven-inning game.

CHICAGO –– Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing has a diagnosis for his recent elbow injury.

As manager Dave Roberts said in a radio interview with AM570 on Tuesday, the second-year slugger has a “slightly torn UCL” in his right throwing arm, though a timeline on his recovery was not immediately clear.

Roberts expounded after Tuesday’s game by saying Rushing will remain on a hitting program, but is set to be shut down from throwing for up to potentially 4-6 weeks.

That could leave his status as a catching option in doubt for the stretch run of the year, and potentially the playoffs.

“Don’t know what that looks like for the rest of the season and throughout the postseason,” Roberts said. “Fortunately, it happened the day before the trade deadline. So… today we’re looking at two new catchers.”

Indeed, from a timing standpoint, Rushing’s injury happened just soon enough for the Dodgers –– who have also been without starting catcher Will Smith since early June because of an inflamed disc in his neck –– to find replacements behind the plate.

Rushing was scratched from the Dodgers’ lineup on Sunday, after feeling arm pain during pregame catch play.

And over the next 48 hours, the team made two catching additions before Monday’s trade deadline, reacquiring familiar faces in Ben Rortvedt and Hunter Feduccia. They were both added to the active roster before Tuesday’s game, replacing recent minor-league call-ups Eliezer Alfonzo and Chuckie Robinson.

The Dodgers are confident Smith will return to action over the stretch run of the season. He started ramping up baseball activities during last week’s homestand, after his lingering injury finally became pain-free.

The hope is that Rushing will be able to return, as well, though it’s possible he could be limited to hitting-only duties.

If so, the Dodgers at least now have ample insurance at the position, allowing them to remain cautious with both Smith’s and Rushing’s recovery progressions as their injury questions linger behind the plate.

The Yankees have not referred to George Lombard Jr. as a savior of their season. The words “Derek Jeter” have yet to come out of Aaron Boone’s mouth when asked for comparison. The vision that the club’s manager laid out Tuesday, shortly after promoting the young shortstop, was for Lombard to “get settled here as seamlessly as possible and hopefully go out there and help us win ballgames.”

And then Lombard authored the kind of debut that ensured the nearly impossible expectations, at least externally, will only grow.

In his first major league game, Lombard looked like the kind of immediate upgrade — with the bat and glove — who allows the Yankees and their fans to fantasize they have found their World Series shortstop for the present and the future.

The 21-year-old top prospect homered in his second big league at-bat, put on a show defensively and immediately displayed why he was untouchable at this and every trade deadline since joining the organization, contributing plenty to a 2-0 Yankees victory over the Cardinals.

There were 41,081 fans who watched a sweet swing and several slick defensive plays from Lombard. But if this game truly marks the start of a new Yankees era, there will be millions more who claim they witnessed the rise of Lombard firsthand.

“This is probably a moment, a swing, a day I won’t forget forever,” Lombard said after his team improved to 64-50 on the year and 1-0 in the Lombard Era, which will be remembered for that swing and a bit of defensive wizardry.

Lombard had struggled initially with the bat at every minor league affiliate before adjusting and conquering the level. At least for one game, he required only two at-bats to figure out big league pitching.

After a third-inning groundout, Lombard stepped up in the fifth inning and smoked a solo home run into the left field seats for his first hit, homer, RBI, run scored and electrifying moment in The Bronx.

“He’s strong,” Boone said after Hunter Dobbins’ 0-2 sweeper got too much of the plate and was redirected 392 feet for a 2-0 Yankees lead. “He knows what he wants to do. He knows his plan.”

Lombard allowed a small smile as he rounded the bases while his parents — who earlier in the night had celebrated the first professional home run from George’s brother, Jacob, in his debut with the Marlins’ Low-A affiliate — hugged in the stands. The home dugout exploded. Yankee Stadium found a new hero.

And yet the kid, barely old enough to drink alcohol, whose reputation for maturity might be greater than his reputation for baseball excellence, did not show much emotion.

“Honestly, I felt pretty relaxed [during the game],” said the third-youngest Yankee (behind Jasson Domínguez and Johnny Ellis) in history to homer in his debut. “I think everybody around me, everyone here, helped me feel comfortable once I got here.”

To see the dangers of proclaiming Lombard as the rightful heir to Jeter, you just have to look at the last shortstop proclaimed as such, who was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre with Tuesday’s corresponding move. A 2019 first-round pick, Anthony Volpe was the darling of the organization and the fanbase until he was not. In his fourth big league season, Volpe will have to prove himself in the minors to even make the case he can be a part-time player in The Bronx.

There are no guarantees, but the 2023 first-round pick wasted no time showing off tools that Volpe does not have in his toolbox.

Arguably more impressive than his home run was the second-inning ground ball that Blaze Jordan smacked into the hole, where Lombard took a few long steps and lunged.

“I didn’t realize he was that long,” said winning pitcher Ryan Weathers, who watched Lombard spear the ball with an extended backhand and throw with force to second while fading away. Jazz Chisholm Jr. caught it, turned and threw for a well-turned double play.

“Pretty special turn. You just see how fluid he is, how physical he is,” Boone added of the play, on which Lombard looked “like a puma.”

Add in a homer from Chisholm and nine shutout innings from Weathers, Fernando Cruz, Brent Headrick and David Bednar, and the Yankees seized a 10th victory in their past 16 games.

This one, though, felt different. Time will tell, but it felt as if it should be remembered.

“Obviously a great first night for him,” Boone said of his new shortstop. “The home run was great. The defense was tremendous.”