CLEVELAND (92.3 The Fan) - One of the biggest criticisms about the Indians' trade of pitcher Mike Clevinger to the San Diego Padres at the 2020 MLB Trade Deadline was that Cleveland didn't receive enough to help them this year.
Josh Naylor disagrees.
The left-handed hitting outfielder, one of six players the Tribe received for Clevinger at the end of August, made MLB Postseason history in Game 2 of the Wild Card round on Wednesday night, becoming the first player to record a hit in each of his first five postseason at-bats.
Naylor accomplished the feat when he recorded a two-run double off of Yankees starter Masahiro Tanaka in Cleveland's 4-run first inning.
The 23-year-old went 4-for-4 in his playoff debut on Tuesday, slugging two doubles and a homer in Cleveland's 12-3 loss to New York in Game 1 of the Wild Card best-of-three series.
He was finally retired when Tanaka got him to fly out to end the bottom of the third inning on Wednesday night.
Naylor slashed .230/.277/.279 in 22 regular season games with the Indians during the regular season. Overall, he finished the year with a .621 OPS in 40 games.