At a little after 10 p.m. on Wednesday, Cade Smith got Dillon Dingler to ground out to end the Cleveland Guardians’ 5-1 win over the Detroit Tigers that put them on the precipice of clinching a postseason spot.
About two hours later, the Seattle Mariners had a raucous celebration at T-Mobile Park after clinching their first American League West title since 2001.
While the wins came more than 2,400 miles apart, there are some shared threads across both teams — namely the presence of Josh Naylor.
In the offseason, the Guardians elected to trade Naylor to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for starting pitcher Slade Cecconi and a draft pick that became draft pick Wil Haynes.