CLEVELAND — The Guardians' magic is again.
Comeback wins have been a scorching commodity for the Guardians in the first few months of the season. If the staff trailed in the seventh inning, the dugout knew the magic was about to occur. But the second half of the season has been a special story … till this week.
Two nights in the past, it was a Kyle Manzardo go-ahead homer in the eighth. On Wednesday evening, it was a two-homer evening by Josh Naylor that led to 5-4 victory over the Twins on a Brayan Rocchio walk-off single in the tenth inning at Progressive Field.
“We're not going to stop playing until that 27th out or even into extra innings,” Guardians outfielder Will Brennan mentioned. “There's simply type of this starvation that we wish to show lots of people incorrect and it is simply plenty of enjoyable to be in that clubhouse. Something particular is brewing in there.”
Because the Tigers defeated the Royals, the Guardians couldn’t clinch their playoff spot after the win. However, if Cleveland wins on Thursday, it should clinch a postseason berth.
On an evening when Twins starter Bailey Ober was mowing each hitter down, Naylor rose to the event to maintain the Guardians in the battle. He launched game-tying homers in the second and the seventh innings, the first of which was a Statcast-projected, 445-foot bomb into the proper subject seats. It marked his thirtieth and thirty first homers of the season.
“That’s Nayls,” Brennan mentioned. “He’s gonna be our leader and, gosh, an unbelievable talent.”
Naylor joins José Ramírez as the solely two gamers on Cleveland’s roster with no less than 30 homers. They are simply the second Guardians duo in the previous twenty years to achieve 30 homers and 100 RBIs in the similar season, becoming a member of Ramírez and Edwin Encarnacion in 2018.
“What a cool accolade for him,” Guardians supervisor Stephen Vogt mentioned. “30 and 100. It's a huge milestone for players. It is something special, so to have two guys in our lineup with 30 [homers] and 100 [RBIs is amazing].”
The Guardians know they should lean closely on Naylor’s bat in the postseason, however in addition they know what made them profitable, particularly at the starting of the season. This is a bunch that had a special hero each evening in April and May. It didn’t matter if it was the cleanup hitter or the man in the eight-hole in the lineup. Over the previous couple of days, it looks as if this model of play is creeping again into their repertoire.
It was uncommon to see Guardians reliever Hunter Gaddis surrender a run, however with the bases loaded in the tenth inning, Twins shortstop Carlos Correa knocked a single into middle subject that scored two. But in the backside of the body, the Guardians magic slowly manifested.
When Cleveland is ready to use its whole bench is when it’s most profitable. The bench is aware of this. If a participant isn’t in the beginning lineup, they've a mantra.
“Stay ready so you don’t have to get ready,” Brennan defined. Any participant could possibly be referred to as on for a extra favorable matchup at any time. It simply so occurred that two of these have been wanted in the backside half of the tenth. And each delivered.
Pinch-hitter Manzardo knocked in the first run on a single to middle. Andrés Giménez drew a stroll earlier than pinch-hitter Brennan delivered the big, game-tying RBI single to proper subject. After Bo Naylor struck out, Rocchio was able to be the hero with the walk-off single to proper.
“It was just a complete team win,” Vogt mentioned. “We never gave up. It was a lot of fun.”
The ball landed in proper subject and the Guardians dugout emptied. In a matter of seconds, Rocchio’s teammates grabbed buckets of water, bubblegum, sunflower seeds and the rest they might get their arms on to douse Rocchio in to rejoice.
The Guardians spent all however seven days of the season in first place. They’ve seen loads of success. They’ve loved loads of excessive moments. But there’s no secret that the second half of this season has felt a bit of totally different from the first.
The first half was electrical. It triggered everybody in Cleveland to imagine early in the 12 months that the postseason was a practical risk. And there’s no higher time to rediscover that vibe as the group closes in on that playoff berth.
“That magic came back tonight,” Guardians starter Tanner Bibee mentioned. “It was unbelievable to watch.”
