Bo Naylor hits his 1st career grand slam, Guardians beat Angels 7-1

CLEVELAND (AP) — Bo Naylor hit his first career grand slam, Austin Hedges had his first homer since June 14 and the Cleveland Guardians beat the Los Angeles Angels 7-1 on Saturday night.

Naylor’s two-out blast in the sixth inning came off Angels starter Reid Detmers (3-3), who had loaded the bases on three walks. The four RBIs were a career high for the third-year catcher.

Hedges, batting .111 on the season, hit a two-run homer in the second. Ramón Laureano added a solo shot in the fourth for the Guardians, who have the second-best record in the American League at 21-12.

Cleveland left fielder Steven Kwan, who leads the AL with a .353 batting average, left the game after the third inning because of left hamstring tightness.

Ben Lively (1-1) went six innings, giving up one run on four hits while striking out five. The right-hander ended a nine-start winless streak that included four losses since beating Kansas City while pitching for Cincinnati on June 14.

The Angels trimmed their deficit to 3-1 in the fifth on a Zach Neto single that plated Jo Adell, but Ehire Adrianza flew out with the bases loaded to end the threat. Neto and Adell each had stolen bases in the inning.

Detmers allowed season highs of seven runs and three homers in 5 2/3 innings. Catcher Logan O’Hoppe exited in the fifth with a right hand contusion.

Los Angeles has not won consecutive games — or a series — in Cleveland since 2013, losing 24 of its last 27 at Progressive Field. The Angels beat the Guardians 6-0 in the three-game series opener.

Hedges had gone 110 plate appearances since homering as a member of the Pirates. He finished last year with the World Series champion Rangers before rejoining Cleveland as a free agent.

Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor, mired in a 4-for-33 slump, was given the night off. Cleveland is in the midst of a stretch of 16 games in 16 days that ends on May 15.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Angels: 2B Luis Rengifo (illness) was held out of the lineup with a high fever after falling ill Friday. Rengifo has the fourth-highest batting average in the AL at .330 and is tied for second with nine stolen bases.

Guardians: LHP Sam Hentges (left middle finger inflammation), who has been on the injured list since March 25, has not allowed a run in 4 2/3 innings over four rehab appearances with Triple-A Columbus.

UP NEXT

Angels RHP Griffin Canning (1-3, 7.45 ERA) faces Guardians RHP Carlos Carrasco (1-2, 6.59 ERA) in the series finale Sunday.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Los Angeles Angels' Nolan Schanuel waits to catch a pop fly by Cleveland Guardians' David Fry during the third inning of a baseball game in Cleveland, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Phil Long)

Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Reid Detmers delivers against the Cleveland Guardians during the first inning of a baseball game in Cleveland Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Phil Long)

Los Angeles Angels' Logan O'Hoppe waits to catch a pop foul by Cleveland Guardians' Jose Ramirez during the first inning of a baseball game in Cleveland Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Phil Long)

Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Ben Lively delivers against the Los Angeles Angels during the first inning of a baseball game in Cleveland Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Phil Long)

Cleveland Guardians' David Fry, center left, congratulates Bo Naylor, right, for his grand slam with Tyler Freeman (2), and Jose Ramirez during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels in Cleveland Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Phil Long)

Cleveland Guardians' Ramon Laureano, right, watches his solo home run off Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Reid Detmers as Angels catcher Logan O'Hoppe, left, looks on during the fourth inning of a baseball game in Cleveland, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Phil Long)

Cleveland Guardians' Brayan Rocchio, center, is late with a tag as Los Angeles Angels' Zach Neto, right, steals second base and umpire Jeremie Rehak watches during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Cleveland, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Phil Long)

Cleveland Guardians' Bo Naylor watches his grand slam against the Los Angeles Angels during the sixth inning of a baseball game in Cleveland, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Phil Long)

Cleveland Guardians' Bo Naylor watches his grand slam off against the Los Angeles Angels during the sixth inning of a baseball game in Cleveland Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Phil Long)

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. (AP) — NASCAR is hoping a repaved track and some softer tires will make for more competitive short track racing for Sunday night’s All-Star race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

It can’t get much worse than last year.

After months of hype leading up to the first race at the renovated track since 1996, the All-Star race turned out to be a snoozer, with Kyle Larson running away with the victory and the $1 million prize. He was in front for 145 of 200 laps and at times led by nearly 11 seconds, or more than half of a lap on the .625-mile short track.

That caused Larson to boast afterward “that was an old school (butt)-whipping, for sure.”

And it didn’t make for compelling television.

But William Byron is optimistic that this year’s race will be much closer, with NASCAR experimenting with softer tires on the short track in what has been a rain-soaked weekend at North Wilkesboro.

“This place is so different and unique, we almost need a couple more practices to get everyone closer," Byron said. "I think there will be a lot of comers and goers, and the gaps will be closer because the pace is up and there is less falloff. But I still think it will be tough to complete the passes.”

Larson is still hoping to race Sunday night after spending the week preparing for the Indianapolis 500.

In the meantime, Kevin Harvick came out of retirement to drive Larson's No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet during practice, something he never anticipated happening.

“It’s definitely not the attire that I thought I would be wearing this year," Harvick quipped as he wore the Hendrick Motorsports fire suit.

But Harvick, who now works in the broadcast booth, said it has been a fun week.

His former employer, Stewart-Haas Racing, even helped out by sending the seats and seat rails Harvick used while he was racing for it so he would fit better.

“Sometimes there are phone calls that you react to different than others,” Harvick said. “When Rick (Hendrick) called and said what he needed and I said, ‘OK,’ everyone at Fox was kind enough to let us take the day to do what we needed to do.”

Chase Elliott said he's intrigued by NASCAR's experiment next year with an in-season bracket-style tournament, similar to what the NBA did this season.

“It sounds interesting, especially starting at Atlanta (Motor Speedway) with it now being a speedway thing,” Elliott said. "But yeah, I think it has potential to add some excitement to our year and doing something a little different. I don’t have any issues with that.”

There could be some bad blood this weekend between Chris Buescher and Tyler Reddick. Buescher went after Reddick on pit lane after last week's race at Darlington, where Reddick drove him into the wall, ruining his chances of winning the race.

"When you are racing for the win, you are racing for the win," Reddick said. “In that moment I was trying to think how I could take my car that was in second place to first place.”

Reddick explained that "the obvious thing is I drove in so deep that I needed the entire racetrack. I didn't have enough tire left to keep the outside lane open. So I'm just trying to learn for next time.”

Denny Hamlin is a 19-4 favorite to win the All-Star race, a slight favorite over the three-time champion Larson, according to BetMGM.

AP Motorsports: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

FILE - Kyle Larson (5) celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR All-Star Cup Series auto race at North Wilkesboro Speedway, Sunday, May 21, 2023, in North Wilkesboro, N.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley, File)