Jo Adell spent the pregame show sounding loose, confident and fully aware of what his bat was doing. Then he walked into the game and turned that early swagger into one of the biggest nights of his career.
Adell piled up a career-high six RBIs on three hits Tuesday, headlined by a massive three-run homer in the first inning that soared 455 feet into the left-field bleachers at Progressive Field. The blast helped send the Guardians rolling past the Giants, 8-1.
That first-inning shot was Adell’s 19th home run of the season, and it checked every box for sheer force. It was the longest homer hit by a Guardians player this year and the longest of Adell’s career.
Statcast said it would have gone out in all 30 major league parks. He crushed a hanging changeup from Giants left-hander Carson Whisenhunt at 111.9 mph with Steven Kwan and José Ramírez on base, giving Cleveland a quick 3-0 edge.
The reaction around the ballpark told the rest of the story. Tom Hamilton, the Guardians’ Hall of Fame radio voice, called it a “prodigious blast” as it landed about five rows from the top of the bleachers. In the dugout, Austin Hedges stared toward left field with both hands behind his head.
It all came after a brief scare. Adell had fouled a pitch off his foot moments earlier and needed a visit from manager Stephen Vogt and trainer Jeff Desjardins. After the pause, he stepped back in and made Whisenhunt pay.
And he kept doing damage.
Adell came through with runners in scoring position in each of his next two trips. He lined a two-run single in the second inning and added another RBI single in the fourth, finishing the night with six driven in. That marked a new personal best for the 27-year-old, who joined Cleveland after an Aug. 3 deadline deal with the Angels.
The only number he didn’t reach was the franchise mark. Adell finished three RBIs shy of the single-game record, held by Lonnie Chisenhall after his nine-RBI game against Texas in 2014.
Even before the first pitch, the power was impossible to miss. Adell was mic’d up during the Guardians’ TV pregame show and talked with Chris Gimenez and Al Pawlowski through an earpiece while he kept launching balls over the wall in right-center field.
“You guys should talk more often when I hit, because I’m smoking the ball right now,” Adell joked.
In Other News...
Guardians Lineup Suddenly Has A New Problem Fans Cant Ignore
The Guardians have had to keep shuffling their lineup around injuries, and the latest turn only adds to the uncertainty. Rhys Hoskins was moved to the injured list because of lower back inflammation, opening a spot that Cleveland filled by bringing David Fry back up from Triple-A Columbus. It is another reminder of how quickly the depth chart can change for a club trying to keep its offense moving while managing bodies all over the roster.
Frys return at least gives Cleveland a versatile option, and he has been swinging the bat well in Columbus, which makes him a useful piece to plug into a lineup that needs stability. Chase DeLauter and Jo Adell are still active, but both are dealing with injuries of their own, with DeLauter working through mild left hamstring tightness and Adell handling a left knee contusion. For the Guardians, the bigger concern now is how long this injury pileup can keep forcing them to mix and match before it starts affecting the lineup in a more serious way. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Get A Timely Health Boost In Wild Card Push
The Guardians got a welcome bit of injury news as they head into their series against the Giants, with three players all moving in the right direction at a time when every healthy arm and bat matters. Rookie outfielder Chase DeLauter is feeling better after an MRI turned up no alarming issues, leaving him day-to-day, while the club also has encouraging signs from the pitching side with reliever Colin Holderman and starter Slade Cecconi both taking steps forward.
Holderman has resumed playing catch and is preparing to pitch, an important checkpoint for a bullpen that can use as much depth as it can get. Cecconi, meanwhile, has gotten through bullpen sessions and is expected to start a rehab assignment soon, a development that gives Cleveland another possible reinforcement to track as the wild card chase tightens and the calendar keeps moving. [Read more 🡒]
Bo Naylor Is Raising A Tough Question Cleveland Never Answered
Bo Naylors first weeks in the Brewers organization have offered a fresh look at the same bat Cleveland spent years trying to sort out. Since the trade, he has played exclusively at Triple-A Nashville, and the early returns suggest something is clicking in a different way. The changes show up in the contact profile as much as the results, with a more favorable shape to his production and a version of his offense that looks cleaner than it did before the move.
For Cleveland, the harder question is the one that always hovered around Naylor: whether the offensive gains can translate when the level changes. Milwaukee can still treat him as a catching option down the road, but the organization is really gathering evidence on whether this is a real adjustment or just a hot stretch against Triple-A pitching. The Guardians never got a definitive answer on that front, and now another club is left trying to find one. [Read more 🡒]