CLEVELAND — Josh Naylor's home run off New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole in the bottom of the fourth inning of Game 4 of the American League Division Series on Sunday sent the sold-out crowd at Progressive Field into a frenzy.
But perhaps nobody was more excited than the Cleveland Guardians' designated hitter, himself.
As Naylor trotted around the bases following the solo shot, which cut the Yankees' lead to 3-2, he proceeded to aggressively taunt Cole. Staring directly at the New York starter, Naylor performed the "rock the baby" dance, with many lip-readers surmising that the 25-year-old was telling Cole "you’re my son," before turning his attention to the Guardians' dugout and shouting "he’s my little f---ing son."
After the game, Cleveland starting pitcher Triston McKenzie confirmed the intended message behind his teammate's home run.
"Nayls, when he hits homers off people, he calls them his son," McKenzie said, per MLB.com's Mandy Bell. "Hence the rocking the baby as he runs around the bases."
Cole, however, didn't find the celebration as entertaining as social media seemed to.
“Yeah. Whatever. It’s cute,” Cole answered, noting that he didn't see the celebration in real-time.
Ultimately, it would be Cole and the Yankees who would have the last laugh on Sunday, with New York's 4-2 victory evening the best-of-five series at two games apiece. With that, the Guardians and Yankees will head to New York for a winner-take-all Game 5 at Yankee Stadium on Monday night, with the winner advancing to face the Houston Astros in the American League Championship Series.