A Much-Needed Game For Josh Naylor, Despite Guardians Loss

Josh Naylor finds success against the Los Angeles Angels' left-handed pitching as the Cleveland Guardians drop the series opener.

Author:
Tommy Wild
May 13, 2023 11:29 AM EDT

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Cleveland Guardians

Los Angeles Angels

The Cleveland Guardians are still working on figuring a lot out with their offense and pitching. They're under .500 and have only won a single series since the middle of April.

There's been a lot of negativity around this team, but it would be unfair to solely focus on that and not look at some of the positives too. One bright spot in their recent struggles was Josh Naylor's performance against the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night.

Cleveland ended up losing the game 5-4 in the ninth inning, but Nyalor was the reason they were so close throughout the night.

The first baseman walked twice, recorded a hit which was a home run, and didn't strike out once. All of that is great, but it's who was on the mound which is why the final line is so significant.

Naylor has historically struggled against left-handed pitchers and the opposition is well aware of this. With all of these struggles, fans have been surprised that Terry Francona continues to start him against lefty starters, such as the one they saw one Friday night.

Tyler Anderson tried to get Naylor to bite at the high fastballs in his first at-bat, but Naylor didn't take any of it and walked. Then later on in the game, Naylor put a jolt into a four-seamer from (another left-handed pitcher) Matt Moore which put the Guardians ahead at the time.

Tito was happy with what he saw from Naylor in the game, especially in the home run. This is what the skipper had to say after the game:

"Yeah, he took a nice swing. And I don't think he has to swing hard to hit a ball like that. I think he stayed in his swing and didn't come up and off and the ball can go a long way."

The Guardians aren't going to turn all of their struggles around in one game. Instead, it's going to take baby steps to get the offense back and going. Naylor finding some success off of left-handed pitching is the perfect small step this team needs right now.

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