Naylor’s leg fractured, ankle dislocated

Josh Naylor sustained a fracture of his lower right leg and a dislocated right ankle June 27 in a collision.

Perhaps you recall this scene from Game 2 of the wild-card series between the Yankees and Indians on Sept. 30 last year at Progressive Field:

The Indians, blown out, 12-3, in Game 1 in the best-of-three series, trailed New York, 8-6, in the bottom of the seventh inning. Yankees lefthanded reliever Zach Britton walked two batters. Josh Naylor, a left-handed batter, was due up next for the Tribe.

Naylor went 4-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI in Game 1. He was 1-for-3 with a run scored and two RBI in Game 2 as he stood in the on-deck circle waiting to bat. But he never got the chance.

Sandy Alomar Jr. was acting manager for the Indians because Terry Francona was dealing with serious medical issues.

Alomar called Naylor back to the dugout and sent in righthanded batter Jordan Luplow to pinch hit. It was a bold, shocking move, especially for a standin manager. The Twitter world erupted and had plenty of time to rip Alomar when Yankees manager Aaron Boone countered Alomar’s move by replacing Britton with right-handed pitcher Jonathan Loáisiga.

Naylor, acquired from the Padres one month earlier in the trade that sent pitcher Mike Clevinger to San Diego, stood at the rail in the Indians dugout, slamming the padding in front of him and cheering Luplow on. Remember, only cardboard cutouts were in the seats because of the pandemic. That made it easier to hear Naylor shouting.

Naylor went wild and raised his arms high above his head when Luplow doubled home both runners to tie the score, 8-8.

STACY BENGS — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Josh Naylor lies on the ground with a member of the Indians medical staff after colliding with Ernie Clement on June 27 in Minneapolis.