DETROIT -- Is it possible for Josh Naylor to more fully embrace his role as the Motor City’s new villain?
Well, he could stomp on a coney dog from one of the downtown eateries.
He could spit in a can of Vernors or Faygo, then throw it at a Michigan gray squirrel.
He could even flatten a Detroit-style pizza.
Or he could’ve chosen something more simple Saturday, like taking issue with the 96 mile-per-hour sinker from Keider Montero that hit him between the shoulders with one out in the fifth inning.
“I was trying to get him out real quick on the first pitch,” Montero said through translation from Tigers director of Spanish communications Carlos Guillen. “It was a sinker in, and it moved in a little bit and got him. But the circumstances of the game, nothing [unsportsmanlike].”
Naylor did not take issue. He not only smiled, he seemed to let out a chuckle as he gathered himself and took his base.
“[Framber] Valdez was pointing and laughing at me on the bench,” Naylor told reporters, “so I knew it was on purpose.”
From a game standpoint, he could shake it off. The Mariners already had all their runs and starter Bryce Miller dealing on their way to ending the Tigers’ four-game winning streak with a 4-0 Detroit defeat. And he had long since gotten into Tigers’ heads.
“I think he’s a guy that you like him if you’re his teammate, and you hate him if you’re on the other team,” Colt Keith said. “I’ve seen him do some questionable, like borderline dirty baseball stuff. But I think he plays hard, and he’s just trying to get in our heads. I don’t think Keider hit him on purpose, but obviously he brings a little bit more intensity to the series.”
Naylor has a history with Detroit. He homered four times off Tigers pitching during his breakout 2022 season, then batted .300 with three homers and nine RBIs during his 31-homer season in 2024. Once he joined Seattle last summer, his efforts to get into opposing pitchers’ heads took focus during the AL Division Series, as his antics from second base raised questions whether he was relaying pitches.
Even without that track record, his work in this series had raised the level of boos. One night after Max Muncy and Ildemaro Vargas had a brutal head-on collision at first base in Arizona, the sight of Tigers rookie Kevin McGonigle bouncing off Naylor as he crossed first base to cover the bag on McGonigle’s grounder Friday night briefly raised fears among Tigers fans. McGonigle was fine, though perplexed.
“The whole way, I thought he was going to flip it,” McGonigle said afterwards. “[Pitcher Bryan] Woo was there early, so I just expected that. I’m not sure why he took it himself there, but [I] tried to beat it out when I saw him kind of hustle toward the bag. We ended up colliding, but it’s fine. All good.”
Naylor said he believed the hit-by-pitch was for that play.
The plot thickened earlier Saturday, when Naylor singled and scored from first on Randy Arozarena’s two-run double in the third inning to extend Seattle’s lead. It was a close play at the plate, upheld on replay, but Naylor’s sliding mitt beat him home, seemingly tossed by Naylor towards catcher Dillon Dingler as he slid in.
“I couldn't get [the mitt] on in time at first base,” Naylor said. “I really didn't expect Randy to swing at the first pitch. And then I forgot about it as I was running the bases. Then I noticed I had it on the video, and it just flew, and I felt really bad. I just totally blanked on it.”
The mitt didn’t seem to interfere with the play at the plate.
“I didn’t know what happened in real time,” Dingler said. “I didn’t see it until somebody brought up the video when we were back in the dugout after the inning. …
“Honestly, I missed the tag, and I didn’t put myself in the best position possible. Honestly, it wasn’t that big of a deal.”
The hit-by-pitch came a couple innings later. No warnings were issued. Montero recovered to erase Naylor on an Arozarena ground-ball double play. Naylor slid hard into second base, but was well within reach of the bag as Gleyber Torres took the throw and made the pivot. Torres said after the game he didn’t take exception.
“You’re not supposed to slide through the base, since it’s 2026,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “He obviously took exception to getting hit. I almost had to remind myself what era we were playing in, because that was very normal back in the day. We’re just not back in the day.”