Atlanta Braves at New York Yankees

NEW YORK – On an afternoon dedicated to celebrating the Yankees’ past, Gerrit Cole offered another reminder of what has made him one of the league’s finest pitchers for more than a decade. Under that same spotlight, two of his rookie teammates offered a glimpse of their potential. Cole struck out nine over seven strong innings, outdueling Chris Sale while becoming the quickest pitcher in franchise history to reach 1,000 strikeouts. George Lombard Jr. hit his second Major League home run and Spencer Jones drove in two runs, leading the Yankees to a 5-4 victory over the Braves on Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium. “It feels good,” Lombard said. “The guys in the clubhouse, the coaching staff, everyone has kind of welcomed me. They’ve given me the confidence to keep doing my thing and keep playing my game. I feel like I’ve been able to get rolling well.” Once the 78th Old-Timers’ Day festivities wrapped, the present-day Yankees claimed the field, and Cole said the 21-year-old Lombard set the tone early. In just his fourth game since being promoted, Lombard has impressed, coupling sparkling defense with offensive production. This time, it began with Lombard’s glove, ranging smoothly to retire Drake Baldwin for the first out of the game – “fielding it like he was half-asleep,” as Cole said. Lombard opened eyes later, scoring from first base on Jones’ fifth-inning triple before lifting a Statcast-projected 352-foot drive over the right-field wall in the seventh inning.