Josh Naylor powers Guardians past A's

Field Level Media|published: Sat 20th April, 21:02 2024

Apr 20, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians designated hitter Josh Naylor (22) celebrates his two-run home run with left fielder Steven Kwan (38) in the fifth inning against the Oakland Athletics at Progressive Field. credits: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Josh Naylor hit a two-run homer and singled in a run as the Cleveland Guardians beat the visiting Oakland Athletics 6-3 on Saturday.

Steven Kwan went 4-for-5 and Gabriel Arias added two hits for Cleveland, which outhit the A's 14-6 and won for the fifth time in the last six games. The Guardians sit atop the American League Central at 15-6.

Guardians starter Logan Allen (3-0) pitched 5 1/3 innings and allowed three runs on five hits, three walks and four strikeouts. Emmanuel Clase worked around a leadoff double in the ninth inning for his sixth save.

Oakland third baseman Max Schuemann recorded his first major league hit and tied the game at 2-2 with a solo homer in the top of the fifth.

Ryan Noda also homered for the A's, who have lost five of their first six meetings against Cleveland this season. The Guardians are 16-3 against the A's since the start of the 2021 season.

Cleveland claimed an early lead with two runs in the first inning against Alex Wood (0-2). Jose Ramirez doubled in a run with one out and scored on Ramon Laureano's two-out double to left field.

The A's pulled even with two runs in the fifth inning. After Noda hit a leadoff homer, Nick Allen grounded out before Schuemann homered to right-center field.

Naylor's two-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning put the Guardians ahead 4-2. The 410-foot blast was Naylor's sixth long ball of the season.

Wood gave up four runs on eight hits, walked one and struck out four in five innings.

Oakland cut into the lead with a run in the sixth inning when Abraham Toro scored on Shea Langeliers' sacrifice fly.

Naylor is 11-for-33 with three homers and eight RBIs during his eight-game hitting streak for Cleveland, which extended its lead with two runs in the seventh inning.

Naylor put the Guardians ahead 5-3 with an RBI single against Austin Adams and scored on Tyler Freeman's two-out, run-scoring single to right field.

Kwan extended his hitting streak against Oakland to 17 games, tying Luis Polonia for the second longest hitting streak against the A's by a player at the start of his career.

—Field Level Media

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