Josh Naylor's Clutch Hit For The Guardians Couldn't Have Come At A Better Time
Not every player gets off to a hot start. In fact, sometimes it can be the exact opposite where a player feels like they can never get on base no matter how hard they hit the ball.
That was the story for Josh Naylor during the first month of the season. He entered the series opener against the New York Yankees with a batting average of just .179.
It's been a struggle for Naylor. One reason for this is due to the number of left-handed pitchers the Cleveland Guardians have seen early on in the season. Naylor has historically struggled against lefties
Naylor may have just had the one at-bat that could turn everything around for him.
Cleveland had just one hit heading into the ninth against the Yankees on Monday night. But all of a sudden, they found themselves with the bases loaded down two runs and Naylor at the plate.
Naylor took the first two pitches, which were balls, and forced New York reliever Clay Holmes to throw him a strike. When Holmes did find the zone Naylor smoked it through the infield.
Steven Kwan and Amed Rosario scored and just like the Guardians took the lead.
This was a great at-bat from Naylor and it didn't go unnoticed by manager Terry Francona. After the game he said,
"We tried to show him, I think (Valaika) showed him some numbers where with numbers on base his aggressiveness has really spiked. He needs to try and dial it in because he doesn't need to do more. He just needs to be the hitter he is. He's good enough."
If Naylor can stick with this approach then the Guardians will have a feared lineup from the top all the way through the middle.
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