July 14, 2023: Brothers Bo and Josh Naylor make history with multi-run home runs for Guardians

“It’s something super special. It’s something we’ve talked about, joked about in the past. Seeing it come to pass was pretty wild to think about.”1

That’s how Bo Naylor described pairing up with his brother Josh to hit home runs in the same inning for the Cleveland Guardians on July 14, 2023. Their feat was historic on two levels. It was the first time in franchise history that brothers had homered in the same game. It was also the first time in major-league history that brothers had smashed multi-run homers in the same game.2

The Canadian-born Naylor brothers took different paths to become teammates with the Guardians. Josh, born in 1997, was drafted in the first round by the Miami Marlins in 2015, traded to the San Diego Padres in July 2016, and traded to Cleveland – then known as the Indians – during the 2020 season. Bo, nearly three years younger than Josh, was selected by Cleveland in the first round in 2018. He worked his way through Cleveland’s farm system, reaching the majors in late 2022.

Josh Naylor made an impact with the Guardians in 2022, hitting 20 home runs and driving in 79 runs (both second-most on the team), as he gradually took over first-base duties full-time. Cleveland won the American League Central Division and defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in the wild-card series before losing in the AL Division Series to the New York Yankees.

Bo Naylor, a catcher, got a call-up in 2022 after hitting 21 home runs and stealing 20 bases at the Double-A and Triple-A levels. The brothers played together for the first time in Bo’s major-league debut on October 1, 2022.

Bo didn’t start the 2023 season with Cleveland. He was up for one game on May 21, but then came back full-time on June 18. He hit his first major-league home run on June 28.

Cleveland went into the All-Star break a half game ahead of the Minnesota Twins in the AL Central Division. The Guardians were seeking their seventh postseason appearance in 11 seasons under manager Terry Francona.

In the Guardians’ first game after the All-Star break on July 14, a Friday night crowd of 33,863 came to Globe Life Field to see the Texas Rangers defend their first-place standing in the AL West. Prior to the season, few baseball observers had expected the Rangers to be in that position.3 Manager Bruce Bochy, a three-time World Series champion with the San Francisco Giants who returned to the game after a three-year retirement, was credited with much of the Rangers’ first-half success.4

Francona went with right-hander Aaron Civale as his starter. The 28-year-old Civale had a 3-2 record. He was coming off his best outing of the season, on July 7, when he pitched two-hit ball for seven innings and recorded nine strikeouts against the Kansas City Royals. Bochy countered with veteran righty Jon Gray, who was looking to regain his confidence after four consecutive losses that followed six straight winning decisions.

The Naylor brothers were both in the starting lineup, with Josh batting cleanup and Bo batting ninth. Josh was slashing .305/.344/.481, with 11 home runs and a team-high 64 RBIs. Bo had struggled in his 15 games, batting only .196.

The game began with Civale and Gray in control during the first two innings.

That changed in the top of the third when Gray gave up single to Myles Straw. Bo Naylor hit a 1-and-0 changeup from Gray that landed 435 feet away in the right-field stands. His second career homer gave Cleveland a 2-0 lead.

Steven Kwan followed with a walk but was forced at second on Amed Rosario’s groundball to second. Jose Ramírez grounded out to shortstop, and Rosario moved to second. Josh Naylor hit a 3-and-1 slider to right field that stayed just inside the foul line, making the score 4-0.5

But that was all the fireworks the Guardians could generate that night. The Rangers rebounded with their own home-run barrage to score 12 unanswered runs.

In the bottom of the fourth, Nathaniel Lowe led off with a drive to deep right-center field for his 10th home run of the season. Adolis García singled on a weak groundball to third. He went to third on a fly out and an unassisted play at first base and scored on Travis Jankowski’s single, cutting Cleveland’s lead to 4-2.

Civale lasted through the fifth inning, while Gray pitched through the sixth.

Right-hander Eli Morgan relieved Civale in the bottom of the sixth. Lowe led off with a walk and eventually scored on Jonah Heim’s groundball through the hole between first and second. With two runners still on base, Francona called on Nick Sandlin to shut down the rally. Sandlin loaded the bases by hitting Jankowski but recovered to get the next two batters out.

Left-handed reliever Brock Burke entered the game for the Rangers in the top of the seventh with Cleveland still leading, 4-3. He loaded the bases before escaping without yielding a run.

The Rangers turned the tables in the bottom half of the frame. Marcus Semien led off with a walk against Sam Hentges and scored on Corey Seager’s game-tying double. After an opposite-field single by Lowe, right-hander Enyel De Los Santos replaced Hentges.

But the Dominican-born pitcher didn’t fare any better. He gave up an RBI single to García, a two-run double to Heim, and an RBI single to Leody Taveras that scored Heim. Jankowski, who was on first base after a walk, also attempted to score on Taveras’s single but was thrown out at home. Bochy challenged the call at the plate but was overruled. Still, the Rangers had surged ahead, 8-4.

After fireballer Aroldis Chapman pitched a perfect inning in the top of the eighth, the Rangers continued their offensive onslaught in the bottom half. With righty Cody Morris pitching for the Guardians, home runs by Seager, García, and Heim produced four more runs. The last Cleveland reliever to allow three home runs in a game was Brett Myers on April 9, 2013.6

Rangers reliever José LeClerc closed out the game for the Rangers’ 12-4 win.

After the game, Bo Naylor said of his and Josh’s historic blasts, “When I hit mine, me and him shared a great moment. You just see how excited he was for me. And when he hit his, I was up on the top step waiting for him. It’s a cool moment to share with him.”7

The last time brothers had hit a homer in the same game for the same team was the Atlanta Braves’ B.J. and Justin Upton on September 27, 2014. The Uptons were also the last to hit a homer in the same inning when they went back-to-back on April 23, 2013. Until the Naylors, there hadn’t been any brothers to hit multi-run home runs in the same game.

Guardians pitchers were battered for 17 hits and five walks. Hentges was charged with the loss. The Rangers allowed eight hits and four walks, with Brock getting his third win of the season. A dejected Francona said after the game, “We had two big hits – the Naylor brothers. But other than that, it was kind of a quiet night for us.”8

The Rangers went on to win the AL pennant and their first-ever World Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Guardians couldn’t hold their division lead and ended up finishing third in the AL Central Division. Josh Naylor finished the season batting .308, with 17 home runs, 97 RBIs, and 131 OPS+.9 Francona, citing persistent health concerns, stepped down as manager shortly after the end of the season.10

On April 10, 2024, which happened to be National Siblings Day, the Naylors hit home runs in the same inning again.11

A third Naylor brother, Myles, was selected by the Oakland A’s in the first round (39th overall) of the 2023 amateur draft.12 The Naylors became only the second brother trio in major-league history to all attain first-round selections. J.D. Drew (1997 and 1998), Stephen Drew (2004) and Tim Drew (1997) also hold the distinction.

Acknowledgements

This article was fact-checked by Thomas Merrick and copy-edited by Len Levin.

Photo credit: Bo and Josh Naylor, Trading Card Database.

Sources

In addition to the sources listed in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org for pertinent information, including the box score and play-by-play.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/TEX/TEX202307140.shtml.

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2023/B07140TEX2023.htm.

“Brothers Homering in the Same Game,” Retrosheet.org, https://www.retrosheet.org/Research/VincentD/Brothers%20HR%20in%20Same%20Game.pdf. Accessed July 6, 2024.

Notes

1 Mandy Bell, “Naylor Brothers Make History with Home Runs vs. Texas,” MLB.com, July 14. 2023, https://www.mlb.com/guardians/news/bo-naylor-josh-naylor-homer-in-same-inning-for-guardians. Accessed July 6, 2024.

2 Associated Press, “Bo Naylor, Josh Naylor Become First Brothers to Hit Multi-Run Homers in Same Inning for Same Team,” July 14, 2023, apnews.com, https://apnews.com/article/naylor-brothers-homer-same-inning-guardians-85c762c812212e828d74286788f41d62. Accessed July 6, 2024.

3 Edward Sutelan, “MLB Predictions 2023: Final Standings, Playoff Projections, World Series Odds for Every Team,” March 30, 2023, The Sporting News, https://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/news/mlb-predictions-2023-standings-projections-odds/dapbzchfd0nrlgcmlsi7dckq. Accessed July 6, 2024.

4 Ken Rosenthal, “Walk Slow, Talk Slow, Think Fast: The Rangers’ Bruce Bochy Doesn’t Miss a Thing,” The Athletic, June 12, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/4595666/2023/06/12/bruce-bochey-rangers-hot-start/.

5 “Bo Naylor, Josh Naylor Become First Brothers to Hit Multi-Run Homers in Same Inning for Same Team.”

6 Paul Hoynes, “Naylor Brothers Make History, but Guardians Stagger Out of All-Star Break in 12-4 Loss to Texas,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, July 14, 2023. https://www.cleveland.com/guardians/2023/07/naylor-brothers-make-history-but-guardians-stagger-out-of-all-star-break-in-12-4-loss-to-texas.html. Accessed July 6, 2024.

7 Bell.

8 Hoynes.

9 Josh Naylor’s 2023 performance earned him the James “Tip” O’Neill Award, which is presented annually by the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame to the Canadian player judged to have excelled in individual achievement and team contribution while adhering to baseball’s highest ideals. “James ‘Tip’ O’Neill Award,” Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, https://baseballhalloffame.ca/james-tip-oneill-award/. Accessed July 29, 2024.

10 Mandy Bell, “Francona Stepping Down as Guardians Manager,” MLB.com, October 3, 2023, https://www.mlb.com/news/terry-francona-stepping-down-guardians-manager.

11 Joe Noga, “They Did It Again! Josh and Bo Naylor Hit Home Runs in Same Inning for Guardians,” April 10, 2024, https://www.cleveland.com/guardians/2024/04/they-did-it-again-josh-and-bo-naylor-hit-home-runs-in-same-inning-for-guardians.html. Accessed July 6, 2024.

12 The three Naylor brothers all played for Canada’s junior national team and all three were drafted out of the same high school in Mississauga, Ontario (St. Joan of Arc Catholic Secondary School). Joe Noga, “Myles Naylor, youngest sibling of Guardians brothers Josh and Bo, picked 39th by Oakland in MLB Draft,” Cleveland.com, July 9, 2023, https://www.cleveland.com/guardians/2023/07/myles-naylor-youngest-sibling-of-guardians-brothers-josh-and-bo-picked-39th-by-oakland-in-mlb-draft.html.