FORT MYERS, Fla. — The New York Yankees shut out the Boston Red Sox 4-0 at JetBlue Park on Wednesday in a Grapefruit League showdown between longtime American League rivals. A 20-year-old infielder took Boston’s best arm deep on national television. A right-hander flashed the velocity that made him a Rookie of the Year winner. And the Yankees walked away with another dominant spring performance.
With Aaron Judge and several other key Yankees away at the World Baseball Classic with Team USA, the door opened for younger players. They kicked it wide open.
Lombard puts on a show against Boston’s ace
George Lombard Jr. wasted no time. The Yankees’ top prospect stepped in against Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet to lead off the game. Crochet finished as the AL Cy Young runner-up in 2025, going 18-5 with a 2.59 ERA and 255 strikeouts. He is not someone a 20-year-old typically handles.
That did not faze Lombard. On the fourth pitch of the game, a 96.8 mph fastball up in the zone on a 1-2 count, he turned on it and launched a 392-foot home run over the left-field wall. It cleared JetBlue Park’s Green Monster replica at an exit velocity of 104.2 mph. The blast aired nationally on ESPN.
“It’s always good getting to face the elite guys in the league,” Lombard said. “I was excited for it. Looking for something to hit, not trying to do too much with it and put a good swing on it.”
Lombard was not done. In the third inning, he roped a 108.5 mph bullet past shortstop Trevor Story for a single. Those two at-bats accounted for two of the three hits Crochet allowed.
Crochet’s last meaningful outing against the Yankees came in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series last October, when he struck out 11 over 7 2/3 innings. The Red Sox won that game but lost the series 2-1 to New York. For a Yankees prospect to square him up twice turned heads across the sport.
Boone praises the young shortstop’s all-around game
Yankees manager Aaron Boone has watched Lombard closely this spring. The infielder has made highlight-reel plays at shortstop, third base and second base. His OPS through six Grapefruit League games sat at 1.196.
“He’s been great,” Boone said. “You see what he’s capable of. The thing he does pretty well already, as a young hitter, is control the strike zone and has real pop. Obviously a no-doubter there to start things off. He’s just continuing to develop as a hitter.”
The Yankees drafted Lombard 26th overall in 2023 out of Gulliver Preparatory School in Pinecrest, Fla. He reached Double-A as a 19-year-old in 2025, hitting .235/.367/.381 with nine home runs and 35 stolen bases in 132 games. MLB Pipeline ranks him as the Yankees’ No. 1 prospect and No. 32 overall. GM Brian Cashman has called his defense “MLB-ready.”
Gil delivers his sharpest spring outing
While Lombard grabbed the headlines, Luis Gil stole the show on the mound. The 2024 AL Rookie of the Year made his third Yankees spring start and turned in his best work yet, striking out six and walking two across three-plus scoreless innings.
The velocity told the real story. Gil’s fastball averaged 95.7 mph, up from his 2025 average of 95.3. He topped out at 97.9 mph on a strikeout of Story to end the third.
“It feels great, to know that the velo is there when you need it,” Gil said through an interpreter. “It also shows how the body is progressing and getting into shape to be able to execute pitches like that. Routine is very important and I feel like I’ve been building slowly to that.”
Gil missed the first four months of 2025 with a lat strain. He returned to post a 3.32 ERA in 11 starts for the Yankees, but his strikeout rate dropped and his walk rate spiked. The velocity dip sat at the center of those concerns.
Boone acknowledged the slow build but expressed confidence in the Yankees right-hander.
“I want to see more, because I know what he’s capable of,” Boone said. “Keep working him back to that early ’24 form where he was dominant. I feel like he’s moving in that direction but he’s got to keep doing that.”
With Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon rehabbing from elbow surgeries, the Yankees need Gil in the rotation from day one. The projected Opening Day staff is Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren, Ryan Weathers and Gil.
Rice, Shewmake add to the Yankees highlight reel
Ben Rice added to the Yankees’ offensive output with his first homer of the spring, a 412-foot blast off Red Sox reliever Justin Slaten at 108.8 mph exit velocity that cut through wind blowing in from right. Rice also made a diving stop at first base on a hard grounder from Isiah Kiner-Falefa and flipped to Jake Bird, though the umpire ruled Bird did not touch the bag.
In the eighth, Yankees shortstop Braden Shewmake delivered the defensive gem of the day. With the bases loaded, he made a diving catch in shallow left field, got to one knee and fired home to throw out the runner tagging from third. The inning-ending double play sealed the shutout.
The Yankees have rolled through spring this month, including an 11-1 rout of Team Panama on March 3. Wednesday’s blanking of the Red Sox was the latest sign this Yankees club is rounding into form ahead of Opening Day on March 25 against the Giants in San Francisco.
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