CLEVELAND — Josh knew Bo was ready.
They had practiced this long ago in their backyard with their dad and some mini-bats. It's the type of thing many brothers dream of — the game on the line, biggest moment of the night, all down to one pitch.
Fast forward quite a few years, and Josh Naylor was watching his younger brother Bo , in a Major League ballpark, step to the plate in extra innings of 6-6 game between the Guardians and Chicago White Sox .
Their dad and some mini-bats had been replaced with Progressive Field and 90 mph heat from a major league reliever. But they were ready. Their dad had made sure of it. So did their mother, who Josh called "phenomenal" in how she aided them on their path to the majors by driving them to practices and games all over Canada and the United States and helping to mold them into the men they are today.
"There were times where we were kids and our dad had us in the backyard .. and he would call out a situation, or bottom [of the ninth], game on the line, you gotta get a home run type of thing. I think those situations come to life now that we're in the big leagues," Josh said. "Playing games as a kid prepared us for those moments. … Both our parents played a huge role in our success and our upbringing."
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Bo stepped to the plate in the 10th inning Wednesday night with the score tied and the bases loaded. It was up to him, just as it had been in the backyard all those years ago.
"I was on the bench when [Bo] was up and I just kept saying to myself, I kept mumbling, 'You're born for this moment. Be ready. You're prepared. Let's do it,'" Josh said.
Bo came through, hitting a line drive single into right-field to win it 7-6 and send the Guardians (9-3) into an off day Thursday before hosting the Yankees this weekend.
It was the type of moment Josh had always envisioned as a kid, with he and his brother — and possibly a third brother, Myles, will join them some day — on the same team, in the same lineup, celebrating the same moments.
"I dreamt of it as a kid," Josh said. "I knew it would come true eventually if we just kept working hard. So it's not really a shock to me."
Every moment is special, like when Josh got to see Bo's first major league hit . But Wednesday night might be put right at the top of the list.
As the Guardians tried to erase a five-run deficit, both Josh and Bo homered in the fourth inning, and on National Siblings Day, no less. A few hours later, they both celebrated Bo's walk-off single with the rest of the team along the first-base line, with the younger brother getting the traditional mobbing for the game winner.
Every moment counts, though, when you get to play in the majors with your big brother.
"Every time I'm in the locker room, I get to be able to hang out with my brother, and it's a new, special moment," Bo said. "Every time I'm out there on the field, every end of an inning, I get to throw a ball over to him. It's special. So for me, it's a new part of the journey every day, and I'm super grateful to be able to share these experiences with him."
The backyard is now a major league stadium. But the brothers are still together.
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Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis1@gannett.com. Read more about the Guardians at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/cleveland-guardians. Follow him on Threads at @ByRyanLewis .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Guardians' Josh Naylor, Bo Naylor homer on National Siblings Day
