Naylor ends drought with first 2 blasts of '26 to lift Mariners to sweep

SEATTLE -- Josh Naylor got off the schneid in a seismic way on Monday afternoon.

And it might’ve been the result of a fairly significant swing change.

Mired in the worst slump within Seattle’s lineup to start this season, the slugging first baseman homered in each of his first two at-bats to lift the Mariners to a 6-2 win over the Astros as they completed a four-game sweep at T-Mobile Park.

For those watching closely, Naylor’s big hacks each featured a big leg kick -- which wasn’t there the day before.

Asked about it postgame, Naylor abruptly said: "I don't like it."

However, he added: "I think you try things sometimes and hope it works, and if it doesn't, try something else. I think this game is a big trial-and-error game. You work your hardest to be the best you can be.”

Those big blasts gave George Kirby plenty of breathing room to pitch into the eighth inning for his second straight start, complete with the right-hander lobbying manager Dan Wilson for one final batter -- Yordan Alvarez, to boot -- despite his pitch count at 95.

Alas, Kirby walked Alvarez on four pitches for his first free pass of the day but left to a worthy ovation.

“I got a little help from J.P. [Crawford], yelling, ‘Keep him in, keep him in!’” Kirby said. “But yeah, I'm glad Dan believed in me right there.”

As for Naylor, he entered play with zero extra-base hits over his first 66 plate appearances, which was MLB’s second-longest active drought behind Cincinnati’s TJ Friedl. And because of that power drought, with a 6-for-59 ledger entering this one, his batting average was equal to his slugging percentage (.102).

It was wildly uncharacteristic for a player who slugged .462 last year and has hit cleanup in each of his 16 starts.

“It's a process. It's a long season,” Naylor said. “I always say to the guys that you'd rather start slow and end good than start good and end slow. I just try to put in the work every day, regardless of the results. I try not to focus on results, really -- just play the game hard, and I think results will come eventually.”

Monday’s big showing demonstrated why the Mariners signed Naylor to a five-year, $92.5 million free-agent deal to return following a hugely successful stretch upon being acquired at last year’s Trade Deadline.

In the first inning, Naylor yanked an 0-1 fastball from Mike Burrows to the pull side and narrowly over the right-field wall, at a Statcast-projected 365 feet. But the second was no cheapie, as Naylor connected at an exit velocity of 111.5 mph and launched it 433 feet and into The J-Rod Squad beyond center field.

The leg kick creates more buildup from the base -- and as such, can lead to more power. But there’s also a sacrifice of increased swing-and-miss if the hitter’s timing isn’t right. That hasn’t been the case for Naylor, who despite his struggles, entered Monday with a 17.6% K rate.

So, he gave the mechanical tweak a go.

“Because why not?” Naylor said. “I mean, what's the worst that can happen, I go 0-for-4 again? I've done that already. We've been there, done that type of thing. So, yeah, I guess sometimes trying something new kind of eliminates a process in your mind of thinking about things within your normal swing base. So I tried that, and it worked out today. Maybe I'll stick with it.”

Those big blasts drove in each of the Mariners’ first five runs, and more than tripled his season RBI total, as he entered the day with just two. Granted, this power drought nearly ended on April 4, when Naylor was one of the victims of Jo Adell in the game that the Angels' right fielder robbed three home runs in a single night.

Monday’s start was an emphatic one for a club that secured just its second four-game sweep of Houston in 16 such meetings since the club moved to the American League in 2013.

That the Mariners were in position to do so speaks to how much their offense has come to life on this homestand. Of their 69 runs scored this season, 29 have come in the past four days.

More revealing, though, was how much traffic they created. Seattle had a .422 on-base percentage during this series, compared to .280 over its first 13 games.

“It was awesome,” Naylor said. “We hit for a long time.”