Naylor brothers make history with home runs vs. Texas

July 15th, 2023

ARLINGTON -- If it wasn’t cool enough for two brothers to be on the same Major League roster together, Josh and decided to make some history on Friday night.

The Naylors became the first siblings in Cleveland history to hit a home run in the same game, each hitting a long ball in the third inning at Globe Life Field. It gave the Guardians a four-run lead, but after a rough night for Cleveland's bullpen, the Guardians fell to the Rangers, 12-4.

“It’s super special,” Bo said about the historical event. “I think it was something we talked about, joked about in the past. Seeing it come to pass is pretty wild to think about.”

Bo set the tone in the third inning, following a Myles Straw single with a Statcast-projected 435-foot shot to the right-field seats for his second career homer. Four batters later, his older brother, Josh, followed suit, smacking his own two-run homer down the right-field line that hooked inside the foul pole.

“When I hit mine, me and him shared a great moment,” Bo said. “You just see how excited he was for me. And when he hit his, I was up on the top step waiting for him. It’s a cool moment to share with him.”

The last time brothers hit a homer in the same game for the same team in the Majors was the Braves' B.J. and Justin Upton on Sept. 27, 2014. This was the 31st time that brothers have homered in the same regular-season game, and the Naylors became the 13th pair of brothers in this exclusive club. Here’s a look at the full list:

Brothers to homer for same team in same regular-season game
B.J. and Justin Upton, Braves (six times)
Jason and Jeremy Giambi, A's (four times)
Vladimir and Wilton Guerrero, Expos (four times)
Hank and Tommie Aaron, Braves (three times)
Lloyd and Paul Waner, Pirates (three times)
Adrian and Edgar Gonzalez, Padres (two times)
Cal and Billy Ripken, Orioles (two times)
Billy and Tony Conigliaro, Red Sox (two times)
Bo and Josh Naylor, Guardians
Adam and Andy LaRoche, Pirates
Benji and Jose Molina, Angels
Matty and Jesus Alou, Giants
Felipe and Matty Alou, Giants

The Uptons were also the last to hit a homer in the same inning when they went back-to-back on April 23, 2013. It was the eighth time brothers have homered in the same inning for the same team since 1900, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

But the Ferrell brothers may have one-upped the other occurrences by doing so in the same inning as opponents on July 19, 1933, when Cleveland pitcher Wes Farrell hit a two-run homer off Boston's Hank Johnson in the top of the fourth, only to have his brother Rick, the Red Sox's catcher, take him deep for a three-run shot in the bottom of the same frame.