Cleveland’s Josh Naylor Makes History with Late Game Heroics, Guardians Stun the White Sox 12-9
CHICAGO - The White Sox were up 8-2 against the Cleveland Guardians in the ninth inning on Monday night. The game should have been over. Although Cleveland had closed the gap to four after a White Sox error, much of the Chicago crowd had already departed Guaranteed Rate Field when Guardians’ first baseman, Josh Naylor, marched to the plate.
With the bases loaded and two outs on the board, the lefty dug in and placed the barrel on the first pitch from Liam Hendricks, a 99-mph bullet at the top of the box.
Gone! 421 feet later, the grand slam finally hit the ground as the Guardians rounded the bases to tie the game.
Naylor, who’s having the best season of his career so far, wasn’t ready to clock out just yet though. After the White Sox tied the game at 9-9 in the bottom of the tenth inning, the Guardians lineup got back around to Naylor in the top of the eleventh. The lefty slugger stepped into the box, this time with two men on base. Two outs on the board again, the situation was eerily similar to the set up for his ninth inning bomb.
Surely, White Sox pitcher Ryan Burr wouldn’t give him anything remotely hittable, right? Well, that was probably the plan. But Burr left the 88-mph sinker in the heart of the plate and Naylor connected with it right on the spark plugs, sending it over the right field wall. There was no recovering from that for Chicago, as they fell to the Guardians 12-9, in eleven innings.
Naylor, who also drove in a run with a double in the eighth inning, totaled eight runners batted in (RBIs) on the night, all of which came in the eighth inning or later. It was the first time in MLB history (since the RBI statistic began being recorded in 1920) that any player had ever hit for eight RBIs in the eighth inning or later. The Guardians first baseman is hitting .338 on the season and has an OPS of .944, which would be 12th best in the majors if he had the required number of at bats.
Although it caught Chicago off guard, Naylor’s power is not shocking to his teammates. Guardians outfielder and designated hitter, Franmil Reyes said, "Nothing surprises me what he can do with the bat. That was amazing. A legendary moment."
Naylor has been money in the clutch this season, batting 10 for 17 with runners in scoring position. His stellar performance at the plate is a well-deserved resurgence for the Canadian-born slugger who missed most of last season with a gruesome ankle injury. Naylor is one of the driving forces behind this Cleveland squad who’s 15-14 record has them second in the AL Central behind the Minnesota Twins. The Guardians continue their series against the White Sox on Tuesday night in Chicago.
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