Naylor, who left the game on Friday night with some groin tightness, still found a way to make some baseball history with this 30th stolen base of the campaign.
The Seattle Mariners suffered a tough 3-2 loss against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night, stranding the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Though disappointing, the loss didn't mean much for the Mariners, who are now 90-70 with two games remaining. Seattle has already clinched the American League West title and a first-round bye in the playoffs. All the loss ensured was that the M's can't get the No. 1 seed.
Even though the result was mostly meaningless, the M's still had plenty of individual achievements to highlight. Randy Arozarena stole his 30th base of the season, and Josh Naylor also checked in with his 30th. That steal represented some rare baseball history, according to Mariners PR:
With his 30th stolen base of the season, he became the 3rd first baseman in MLB history with 20+ home runs and 30+ stolen bases in a single season (min. 2/3 of games at 1st base)…he joins Jeff Bagwell (2x, 1997, ’99) and Paul Goldschmidt (2016).
Acquired by the Mariners before the trade deadline this season, Naylor has been one of the key drivers for the M's offensively over the final two months. He's hitting .299 with Seattle and he has 19 stolen bases, using his baseball IQ to help take extra bases where available. He also has nine home runs in a Mariners uniform, a span of just 54 games. He pairs with Cal Raleigh, Eugenio Suarez, and Jorge Polanco to make up one of the deepest lineups in baseball heading into October.
A free agent at the end of the season, there's been a rush of support for the M's to bring him back, but it's unclear what he'll want and what the Mariners are willing to pay.
However, right now, the immediate concern is Naylor's health. He left right after that stolen base with a groin issue, but manager Dan Wilson called it precautionary.
A seven-year veteran of the San Diego Padres, Cleveland Guardians, Arizona Diamondbacks and Mariners, he's a career .269 hitter who has driven in 90 runs or more in each of the last three seasons.
The Mariners will take on the Dodgers again on Saturday night with first pitch coming at 6:40 p.m. PT. Logan Gilbert will take the mound for the final time this regular season.
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