NEW YORK -- If you came to the Bronx on Wednesday evening solely to catch a glimpse of George Lombard Jr., you didn’t leave disappointed.
Following a memorable Major League debut that included a home run, the 21-year-old continued to impress, robbing a hit with a deft defensive play and lashing a line-drive single to center field.
“I made a joke with him earlier: ‘He’s everywhere,’” right-hander Will Warren said after the Yankees’ 3-1 loss to the Cardinals. “It’s nice to have that behind you.”
Almost everything else seemed on the fritz. There were spurts of rain, a couple of power failures that briefly knocked out a panel of stadium lights and a new-look lineup that went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position, stranding 11.
Trent Grisham, who went hitless in five at-bats and is 8-for-68 (.118) since the All-Star break, said he continues to believe the offense will flip the switch.
“We’ve been really good two of the past three years,” Grisham said. “This year has been a little bit of ups and downs, but that’s baseball. It comes with it. We have the right guys in this clubhouse to really steer everybody straight. That’s the special thing about this place.”
There is help on the way. Aaron Judge participated in light activities on Wednesday afternoon, having been cleared to perform on-field running and upper-body resistance training. Giancarlo Stanton and Cody Bellinger are also swinging bats, though both were watching from the bench by first pitch.
Even with Lombard joining Trade Deadline pickups Luis García Jr. and Heliot Ramos to stock a lineup in need of thump, the Yankees couldn’t solve Andre Pallante, who limited them to one run over 5 1/3 innings.
New York loaded the bases with one out in the sixth, but George Soriano limited the damage to a bases-loaded Jazz Chisholm Jr. walk, striking out Spencer Jones and Ryan McMahon.
Lombard had a chance to play hero in the eighth, but Ryne Stanek struck him out on a 99.8 mph fastball with two men aboard.
“I thought Pallante was good, but we’ve got to come through in those situations,” manager Aaron Boone said. “I liked the opportunities tonight. We had a lot of chances; it felt like we had baserunners every inning, but we’ve got to be able to deliver. We haven’t done that enough.”
Warren permitted three runs and seven hits over 5 1/3 innings. St. Louis broke through in the fifth inning, when rookie JJ Wetherholt lifted a deep fly ball to center field that eluded Grisham for a two-run double.
“Off the bat, I thought I had a pretty good chance at it,” Grisham said. “As I was going back, it kind of just kept going, so I ended up playing it off the wall and getting it in as quick as I could.”
Wetherholt’s drive came on a sweeper, a pitch that Warren has seen hit hard this year -- through Wednesday, opponents are hitting .380 (27-for-71) on it, with 12 extra-base hits and a .634 slugging percentage.
“Wetherholt is a good player,” Warren said. “Definitely, I think I probably threw one too many there, and he made a good swing on it. So I think going back, I probably would’ve just thrown something different.”
Iván Herrera followed with a ground-rule double that extended the Cardinals’ lead.
“I gave him a gift there, middle of the plate,” Warren said. “I was trying to limit the damage there, and I did a poor job of it.”
The Yankees may soon face a decision regarding their rotation, with Carlos Rodón set for a Minor League rehab start this weekend. Warren acknowledged that there is uncertainty with his role; it has been suggested that Warren or Ryan Weathers could be eventually ticketed for the bullpen.
“I think it’s a good thing that we have all these arms,” Warren said. “At the end of the day, my job is to take the ball every time I get it.”
That also applies to Lombard in the field. His range was on display in the third inning, when he lunged to flag Wetherholt’s 105.5 mph one-hop liner in shallow center field, then fired to first for a putout.
Lombard also made a smooth play on César Prieto in the seventh.
“He’s obviously very athletic and quick,” said Boone, who added, “He’s catlike in a lot of ways.”