5-for-5 Naylor making postseason history

CLEVELAND — Indians outfielder Josh Naylor addressed the media Tuesday night on Zoom after going 4-for-4 against Gerrit Cole in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series. When asked how he was able to have such a strong night at the plate, he simply replied: “These are do-or-die games

CLEVELAND — Indians outfielder Josh Naylor addressed the media Tuesday night on Zoom after going 4-for-4 against Gerrit Cole in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series. When asked how he was able to have such a strong night at the plate, he simply replied: “These are do-or-die games and it’s win or go home and I don’t really want to go home yet.”

In Game 2 of the Wild Card Series on Wednesday at Progressive Field, Naylor continued to back his statement. The Indians had taken a 1-0 lead over the Yankees in the first before experiencing a 33-minute rain delay (the second delay of the night after a 43-minute push back of the first pitch). But once the tarp was pulled, Naylor maintained his sparkling 1.000 batting average in the postseason by plating two runs on an RBI double to center that gave the Tribe a 3-0 lead.

The 23-year-old became the first player in MLB history to record a hit in each of his first five postseason plate appearances. In Game 1, Naylor was just a triple shy of hitting for the cycle, as he recorded a single, two doubles and a home run.

Josh Naylor of the @Indians is the first player in MLB history to record a hit in each of his first 5 career postseason at-bats.#OurTribe

— Stats By STATS (@StatsBySTATS) October 1, 2020

The Indians acquired Naylor at the Trade Deadline as part of a return for starter Mike Clevinger and outfielder Greg Allen from the Padres. He hit just .230 with a .556 OPS in 22 regular-season games after arriving in Cleveland, but showed signs of heating up over the Tribe’s final 10 contests before the playoffs. In that span, he batted .333 with an .824 OPS and three doubles.