Canada native Bo Naylor makes history with homer in Toronto

TORONTO -- Bo Naylor's hometown ballpark looks quite different from the last time he played here. The 23-year-old catcher has changed a lot, too.

“I’ve definitely gotten a bit smarter,” Naylor smiled, sitting in the visitors’ dugout ahead of his first pro game at Rogers Centre. “You know, a little stronger.”

Five years after Naylor -- a Mississauga, Ont., native -- played his last youth tournament in Toronto’s ballpark, he made sure to flex both of those improved traits in the Guardians’ 5-2 win over the Blue Jays.

The strength element showed up right away, in the form of a game-tying home run in his first at-bat. With Cleveland trailing 1-0 in the third, Naylor swatted a 2-0 sinker from Blue Jays starter Chris Bassitt a Statcast-projected 359 feet to right field.

“It was easy,” Naylor said of his swing, after catching up with the wide contingent of friends and family in attendance. “Rounding the bases, I started having a stir of emotions, a lot of thoughts of all the times I’d played in this field, all the things working up to this moment. It’s super special.”

Naylor became the first Canadian to homer in his first at-bat north of the border, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. But he didn’t stop there.

The Guardians had already built a 3-1 lead -- thanks to Ramón Laureano’s two-run homer in the fourth -- when Naylor stepped up again.

This time, Bassitt dug deeper into his eight-pitch repertoire, working in his curveball, splitter and cutter as he tried to get the batter to chase down and away. But Naylor didn’t bite, and he was rewarded with a six-pitch walk to lead off the inning.

There’s that added smartness he spoke of pregame.

“He’s very smart, he’s learning in his job,” said Laureano, who also added an RBI double in the sixth. “And he’s really taking it in, being a catcher in the big leagues. … I’ve seen a couple of [team] meetings [to discuss] scouting reports and things like that, and he runs that thing. I mean, it’s pretty unbelievable. When you know the game and you see some of the sequences that he has, it’s pretty unbelievable what he does out there.”

Simply put, he acts like he’s been there before.

Naylor grew up roughly 30 minutes outside of Toronto. His calendar as a youth ballplayer involved a stop at Rogers Centre for the Blue Jays’ T12 Tournament -- now called Canadian Futures Showcase -- where he played as a member of Team Ontario from 2015-17 before being selected 29th overall in the 2018 MLB Draft.

Coming back as a Major Leaguer carried a different meaning -- even if his older brother had already done it in his MLB debut four years ago. Josh Naylor, who’s on the 10-day IL with a right oblique strain, wasn’t in Toronto to witness Bo’s triumphant return. He did give his younger brother a call, though.

“[Josh] wants to make sure that I’m in a good spot, that I’m focusing on the right things,” said the younger Naylor. “ … He called me earlier today, he wanted to make sure of all of that. So, I’m very grateful.”

But no words of advice were truly needed.

“Bo is a pretty level-headed kid,” manager Terry Francona said before the game. “ … [He’s] had a lot thrown at him this year, and I still contend that when you see him next year, he will look different.”

A level head has served him well this season.

Some cold spells at the plate, paired with the Guardians’ surplus at the catching position, have prevented Naylor from playing every day. But things have started to turn around over the past three games.

Friday’s clutch homer followed a two-hit performance against the Dodgers on Thursday -- including an RBI double. Last Saturday vs. Detroit, Naylor posted his third three-hit game of the season, two of them for extra bases.

“Just trying to continue to stay confident,” said Naylor. “Through any up or any down, no matter how long they are, I’m just trying to continue to trust my process, do my routine and just kind of let everything go out there.

His defense shined against the Blue Jays as well, as he teamed up with left fielder Steven Kwan and shortstop Gabriel Arias to throw out Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at home plate in the fourth, ending the inning keeping the Guardians’ advantage at two runs.

Those efforts helped starter Tanner Bibee reach his 10th win of the season. The right-hander pitched six innings of two-run ball with five strikeouts, one walk and six hits -- including two homers.

Bibee’s catcher has taught him a few fun facts in their spare time, too.

“[Canada's] dollar coin is the ‘Loonie’ and their two-dollar coin is the ‘Toonie,’” Bibee said with a laugh. “It’s the weirdest thing ever. I love it, though.”