TORONTO — Cleveland Guardians teammates Cal Quantrill and Josh Naylor proved you can come home and thrive.
The Canadian teammates were at their best in an 8-0 thrashing of the Toronto Blue Jays before 41,677 at the Rogers Center on Friday.
Quantrill (9-5), a native of Port Hope, Ont., pitched seven innings, allowing just one double to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to capture his first MLB home run and a career-high ninth win of the season.
Naylor, a native of Mississauga, Ont., gave his teammate a lift with a two-run blast to left field as part of a five-run third inning for his 15th of the season and first in his home and homeland.
“There were a lot of people I owe my career to today’s game,” Quantrill said. “It’s fun to pitch well in front of those guys.”
Quantrill, 27, the son of former Blue Jays pitcher Paul Quantrill, estimated 25 to 30 people were in attendance. Naylor had more than 100 family and friends in the seats.
“I just wanted to show my appreciation and thank everyone for being here for me,” said Naylor, 25, who added that three of her former teachers were at the game.
The two have been teammates at various levels dating back a decade when they were members of the Canadian junior team in 2012. So they were pleased with their performance in the first game of the three-game series against the Blue Jays (60-51).
“I’m really happy for him,” Quantrill said of Naylor’s homer. “It’s amazing to see him having the year he’s having.”
The Guardians (60-52), leaders of the American League Central Division, have won eight in a row, and Quantrill starts the last seven.
“It’s kind of what we thought we were capable of,” Quantrill said. “I think we’re here to stay. I don’t think it’s a fluke. We know how to win baseball games and we’re kind of a complete baseball team.”
“It’s amazing,” Naylor added of the win in Toronto. “This is where we grew up playing baseball. We decided our path here in Canada and we stayed.”
Quantrill retired the first 10 batters. Guerrero then extended his hitting streak to 21 games with a one-out double down the right-field line in the fourth inning.
After that hiccup, Quantrill retired the next 11 Blue Jays before giving way to the Guardians’ bullpen.
“We were way behind in the count,” Toronto interim manager John Schneider said.
“He kept us off balance with his pen and his cutter and he fell on a curveball and changeups. He was on his game, and you have to give him your hat.”
No one could tip the hat to Blue Jays starter Jose Berrios (8-5). He had just one strikeout, giving up a season-high eight runs on eight hits, walking two and striking out two Cleveland batters.
After a five-run third inning, Jose Ramirez hit a low pitch for a three-run blast in the fourth inning for an eight-run lead. It was Ramirez’s 25th home run of the season.
“I’m not feeling very happy right now with my last two starts,” said Berrios, who lost 6-5 at Minnesota after giving up five runs in 3 2/3 innings against the Twins last Friday.
Springer, Stripling Updates
George Springer (right elbow) hit off a tee on Thursday and was scheduled to begin throwing lightly on Friday. He cannot come off the 10-day disabled list until Monday.
Toronto right-hander Ross Stripling threw five shutout innings, allowing just three hits in his rehab start with Triple-A Buffalo for a 3-1 win against Syracuse. Stripling could return to the Blue Jays next week.
Until next time
Blue Jays newcomer Mitch White (1-3) will face Guardians starter Triston McKenzie (8-8) in Game 2 of the series on Saturday.
Toronto’s Kevin Gausman (8-8) faces Cleveland’s Shane Bieber (7-6) in the series finale on Sunday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on August 12, 2022.