The Yankees finished with a series victory over the Guardians in a decisive Game 5, and they added some pettiness to the final out.
The final out of the series was a Myles Straw forceout to second base, with second baseman Gleyber Torres catching the ball. Immediately after, Torres “rocked the baby” with the ball in his glove, which was notable because Josh Naylor did the exact same celebration after homering off Gerrit Cole in Game 4 of the series.
Naylor’s celebration apparently wasn’t meant for Cole specifically, as Triston McKenzie said that the slugger does that after every home run, regardless of the pitcher he takes deep.
Initially, the Yankees played down the celebration, brushing it off as something that wasn’t of their interest.
“Yeah, it’s whatever. It’s cute,” Cole said after Game 4.
However, with Torres mocking the celebration to end the series, it is pretty clear that New York took note of it and wanted to give Cleveland a taste of its own medicine.
After the game, Torres admitted he thought Naylor’s celebration was “disrespectful” and they wanted to get back at Cleveland.
“Revenge,” he said. “Now they can watch on TV.”
Following Naylor’s home run in the fourth inning on Sunday, Cleveland scored just one run in 14 innings and lost two games. Naylor, specifically went 0–6 after he called Cole his “son.”
So, while Naylor won that particular battle with Cole, it was the Yankees who won the war.
