Cleveland Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor suffered an acute back spasm on Tuesday vs the Kansas City Royals.
On Tuesday evening, the Cleveland Guardians secured their second consecutive win in their road series against the Kansas City Royals, prevailing 7-1. After a tighter victory on Monday, Cleveland dominated from the start in Tuesday’s game.
However, the night was marred by an injury to first baseman Josh Naylor, who was forced to exit the game late. The injury occurred shortly after Naylor hit a single in the eighth inning. After advancing to third base, Naylor was suddenly removed from the game due to what the team is now calling an acute back spasm, according to MLB.com. Jhonkensy Noel replaced him as a pinch runner during a pitching change for the Royals.
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Fortunately, Guardians manager Stephen Vogt downplayed the severity of Naylor’s injury, suggesting it might not be long-term. “He’s fine. He’s tested out of the major stuff,” Vogt said after the game. “He’s got some lower back tightness. So hopefully that’s all it is.”
Naylor has been having a strong season, batting .245 with career highs of 29 home runs and 45 RBIs. His performance has been integral to the Guardians’ success this year. With 80 wins so far, Cleveland leads the AL Central by a comfortable 4.5 games.
The series against the Royals will continue on Wednesday evening.
Jackson Stone is a sports journalist for ClutchPoints, covering the NBA, NFL, and CAA Football. A senior at Mercer University from Atlanta, he is pursuing a BA in communications and has contributed to FanSided and USA Today Sports’ Georgia athletics website.
