The best things we saw this week: Naylor brothers power the Guardians on National Siblings Day
Each week of the baseball season can be counted on to deliver something new and fun. Here are the best things we saw in the second week of the 2024 season.
1. Naylor Bros. power Cleveland to victory on National Siblings DayEveryone loves a good sibling rivalry, but on National Siblings Day, brothers Josh and Bo Naylor had something different in mind. The Guardians’ duo made history Wednesday in their team’s 7-6 victory over the White Sox and made it look pretty cool, too.
The brothers celebrated National Siblings Day in style, as they both homered in the Guardians’ win. But it gets better: They did it in the same inning. Older brother Josh got things started with a 432-foot solo shot that got Cleveland on the board in the fourth. Not to be outdone, younger brother Bo came up three batters later and cranked a two-run shot that made it 5-3 Chicago at the time.
That marked the second time the Naylors have homered in the same inning, with the first coming on June 23, 2023, in Texas.
According to baseball researcher Sarah Langs, the Naylors are just the fourth set of brothers to homer for the same team in the same inning, joining BJ and Justin Upton, Bill and Cal Ripken Jr., and Tommy and Hank Aaron.
2. Giancarlo Stanton makes history against his former teamIf there’s one thing Giancarlo Stanton knows how to do, it’s hit the ball out of the ballpark. And on Wednesday, Stanton, who is MLB’s active career home run leader, crushed a sixth-inning homer off Marlins reliever Bryan Hoeing in the Yankees’ 5-2 loss. It was Stanton’s first career homer against the club he played for from 2010 to 2017, and it made him the 15th active MLB player with a home run against all 30 teams.
The other active players who have accomplished the feat are Mookie Betts, Nick Castellanos, Randal Grichuk, Manny Machado, Martin Maldonado, J.D. Martinez, Andrew McCutchen, Matt Olson, Marcell Ozuna, Hunter Renfroe, Eddie Rosario, Carlos Santana, Kyle Schwarber and Jorge Soler.
Stanton’s absence in Miami has certainly been felt since he was traded to the Yankees. He remains the Marlins’ home run leader since the beginning of 2017 — ahead of Brian Anderson, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Garrett Cooper and Soler — with all 59 of Stanton’s hit in his MVP season in his final year with the club.
3. The Royals can’t be stoppedThings are looking pretty good to start the season in Kansas City. The Royals — who were active this offseason, including giving superstar shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. a massive extension — have been showing that the status quo has certainly improved in K.C. They completed a sweep of the White Sox on Sunday and followed that with a three-game sweep of the Astros that featured two blowout victories.
The Royals are now on a seven-game winning streak.
The AL Central isn’t exactly a world-beater, and with the Twins missing arguably their best position player in Royce Lewis, the division is wide open. Kansas City is showing itself to be a team that could make some noise. Also, it isn’t just the offense that has carried the Royals to their 9-4 record so far — third-best in the AL. The team’s starters, headlined by southpaw Cole Ragans, have also stepped up with a 1.96 ERA.
