Mystery of the muddy cleats greets Josh Naylor upon his return: Guardians takeaways

Josh Naylor returned to Cleveland's clubhouse after taking early batting practice to find a trail of dried dirt clumps snaking throughout the room. N Taylor claims his teammates must have been playing a prank on him. He is setting up a camera in his locker to record the prank.

Josh Naylor is batting .455 with three home runs and 11 RBI in 22 at-bats in the seventh inning or later. He also has a .636 average when batting with two outs and runners in scoring position. The Guardians entered play Friday leading the American League with a. 303 average with 2 outs or less. Their .424 slugging percentage in innings 7-9 ranks second in AL behind the Yankees.

Cleveland's pitchers have induced seven ground ball double plays in two games against Cincinnati this week. It's the most groundball double-plays induced in a two-game span since Sept. 3-4, 2017. The club record is nine, accomplished May 3 and 5, 1970.

Akron right-hander Hunter Gaddis is 4-1 with a 2.53 ERA in seven appearances. He has 45 strikeouts and eight walks in 32 innings.

Josh Naylor's muddy cleats greet him upon his return.