Champions crowned at the end of Fathers Day Classic Naylor leads Guardians to 12-3 win over Diamondbacks
lot of little things. Every year there’s good stuff, every year there’s bad stuff.
PHOENIX (AP) — Cleveland Guardians manager Terry Francona has a simple system that he uses to determine if Josh Naylor is hitting the baseball well.
If the slugger’s helmet stays on while swinging, there’s probably some good things happening. If it’s falling off, he’s probably chasing some bad pitches.
Naylor’s helmet stayed in place on Sunday, and the hits were f lowing.
The Guardians’ cleanup hitter had four hits and three RBIs, and the Guardians avoided a three-game sweep by beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 12-3.
“When you see him swinging and his helmet’s not coming off, he’s going to be just fine,” Francona said. “There’s so much to like about his swing.”
The Guardians cruised through the series finale, scoring two runs in the first, three in the second and six more in the fourth for an 11-1 lead. Righthander Tanner Bibee (3-2) gave up three runs and seven hits in five innings, striking out six and walking three.
Cleveland pounded out 16 hits. The lineup accomplished much of its damage off D-backs starter Zach Davies, who has struggled since his return from the injured list in late May.
Cleveland scored two in the first after leadoff batter Steven Kwan reached on an error by shortstop Nick Ahmed. José Ramírez drove Kwan home with a triple and
Josh Naylor’s double scored Ramírez.
Kwan was in the middle of the action again in the second with a two-run triple that scored Will Brennan and Myles Straw. Amed Rosario’s sacrifice fly pushed the Guardians’ advantage to 5-0.
Kwan scored four times and drove in three runs. Straw, Brennan, Rosario and Tyler Freeman all had two hits.
“Momentum is really important,” Kwan said. “A bunch of guys got a bunch of hits. Our pitchers did what they needed to. Going into the off day with our heads up high is really important.”
Arizona’s Christian Walker hit a solo homer — his second long ball in two days — to cut the margin to 5-1.