Bo Naylor went 2-for-5 with a home run, three RBIs and a run scored Thursday as the Guardians beat the Royals 8-5, giving Cleveland a needed jolt in an 8-5 win that leaned on one swing in the seventh inning. Naylor’s three-run homer turned an otherwise tight game into an 8-2 lead and gave the Guardians room to finish the job.
The shot came in the seventh, when Naylor drove a pitch out for his second home run of the season and the kind of hit Cleveland has been waiting for from him. It was his first multi-hit game in this stretch and the clearest sign yet that the bat may be starting to come around.
Through 28 games before Friday, Naylor was batting.143 with two home runs, seven RBI, four runs scored and a 6:21 BB:K, a line that has made this a tough year for him. That is what made Thursday matter beyond the final score: one productive night does not erase the slump, but it does give the Guardians a reason to believe the power still shows up when they need it.
The challenge now is whether Naylor can build on it. Cleveland has seen enough to know the timing is still inconsistent, and enough to know the upside is still there when he squares one up. For a hitter trying to get his season moving, this was the sort of night that can change the conversation.
