CLEVELAND (AP) — Josh Naylor hit a two-run homer and celebrated by striking himself on the helmet with his bat, providing the Guardians with the go-ahead run in a 6-3 victory over the Oakland Athletics.
Naylor’s blast in the fifth off Alex Wood plated Steven Kwan, giving Cleveland a 4-2 lead.
The animated slugger delivered a two-handed smack to his head as the ball cleared the fence in right-center, then spiked the lumber onto the grass.
“I always just try to be your best self in any situation,” a much calmer Naylor said after the game. “It was a cool moment, but it was for the boys and that’s all I really play for. When we get punched, we punch back.”
Two innings later, Naylor again drove in Kwan, with an RBI single off Austin Adams. He is hitting .429 with five homers, 11 RBIs and eight runs in eight home games this season.
Kwan doubled twice and had two singles — his MLB-high sixth three-hit game — and José Ramírez and Ramón Laureano had RBI doubles for the Guardians, who have the best record in the American League at 15-6.