Josh Naylor hits a two-run HR and himself with his bat, helping the Guardians beat the Athletics 6-3

CLEVELAND (AP) — Josh Naylor hit a two-run homer and celebrated by striking himself on the helmet with his bat, providing the Cleveland Guardians with the go-ahead run in a 6-3 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Saturday night.

Naylor’s drive in the fifth off Alex Wood drove in Steven Kwan, giving Cleveland a 4-2 lead. The animated slugger delivered a two-handed smack to his head as the ball cleared the fence in right-center, then spiked the lumber onto the grass.

“I always just try to be your best self in any situation,” a much calmer Naylor said after the game. “It was a cool moment, but it was for the boys and that's all I really play for. When we get punched, we punch back."

Two innings later, Naylor again drove in Kwan, with an RBI single off Austin Adams. He is hitting .429 with five homers, 11 RBIs and eight runs in eight home games this season.

“In moments like that, he becomes Josh Naylor,” Kwan said. “That's the inner competitor. And off the field, he's the stereotypical Canadian, the nicest guy ever who takes care of his people.”

Kwan doubled twice and had two singles -- his MLB-high sixth three-hit game -- and José Ramírez and Ramón Laureano had RBI doubles for the Guardians, who have the best record in the American League at 15-6.

Cleveland and rookie manager Stephen Vogt have won six of their last seven and are off to their best start through 21 games since 1999.

“That's Josh Naylor, man, he's emotional and charismatic,” Vogt said. “As long as he didn't concuss himself, I'm all right with the celebration.”

Guardians starter Logan Allen (3-0) pitched five innings, allowing three runs on five hits. Emmanuel Clase worked the ninth for his sixth save in eight chances.

Max Schuemann tied the score at 2-2 in the fifth with his first big league hit, a homer, prompting an emotional celebration by his family in the stands. Schuemann, a 26-year-old who made his debut on April 12, also stole a base.

Ryan Noda had a solo homer in the fifth and Shea Langeliers added a sixth-inning sacrifice fly for Oakland.

Wood (0-2) gave up four runs in five innings, lowering his ERA to 7.89 through five starts.

Ramírez and Laureano opened the scoring in the first with sharp RBI doubles just inside the third base line. Laureano spent 5 1/2 years with the Athletics before being claimed off waivers by Cleveland last Aug. 7.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Athletics: 3B J.D. Davis (right groin strain) has not resumed baseball activities, but was cleared to walk on a treadmill Friday. Davis is eligible to come off the 10-day IL on April 25.

Guardians: LHP Sam Hentges (left middle finger inflammation) worked one scoreless inning, throwing 10 strikes in 14 pitches, in his initial rehab outing for Double-A Akron on Friday.

UP NEXT

Athletics RHP Ross Stripling (0-4, 5.32 ERA) takes on Guardians RHP Tanner Bibee (1-0, 4.82 ERA) in the three-game series finale. Stripling is tied for the major league lead in losses, while Bibee has averaged 4.7 innings and 4.5 strikeouts in his first four starts.

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Cleveland Guardians' Brayan Rocchio tags out Oakland Athletics' Esteury Ruiz at second base as Ruiz attempted to stretch a single into a double during the fifth inning of a baseball game Saturday, April 20, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Nick Cammett)

Oakland Athletics' Esteury Ruiz is caught stealing second base by Cleveland Guardians' Gabriel Arias during the third inning of a baseball game Saturday, April 20, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Nick Cammett)

Cleveland Guardians' Steven Kwan catches a fly ball hit by Oakland Athletics' Max Schuemann during the second inning of a baseball game Saturday, April 20, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Nick Cammett)

Cleveland Guardians' Ramón Laureano hits an RBI double against the Oakland Athletics during the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, April 20, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Nick Cammett)

Oakland Athletics' Max Schuemann is congratulated for his solo home run off Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Logan Allen, his first homer in the majors, during the fifth inning of a baseball game Saturday, April 20, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Nick Cammett)

Oakland Athletics' Max Schuemann hits a solo home run off Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Logan Allen for his first career home run, during the fifth inning of a baseball game Saturday, April 20, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Nick Cammett)

Cleveland Guardians' Josh Naylor celebrates his two-run home run off Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Alex Wood during the fifth inning of a baseball game Saturday, April 20, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Nick Cammett)

Cleveland Guardians' Josh Naylor celebrates his two-run home run off Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Alex Wood during the fifth inning of a baseball game Saturday, April 20, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Nick Cammett)

PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — Jimmy Carter 's long public goodbye began Saturday in south Georgia where the 39th U.S. president's life began more than 100 years ago.

A motorcade with Carter's flag-draped casket is heading to his hometown of Plains and past his boyhood home on the way to Atlanta. The procession began at the Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus, where former Secret Service agents who protected the late president served as pallbearers. A mournful train whistle filled the clear air as the pallbearers turned to face the hearse for a final goodbye, their hands on their hearts.

The Carter family, including the former president's four children and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, are accompanying their patriarch as his six-day state funeral begins.

The longest-lived U.S. president, Carter died at his home in Plains on Dec. 29 at the age of 100.

Families lined the procession route in downtown Plains, near the historic train depot where Carter headquartered his presidential campaign. Some carried bouquets of flowers or wore commemorative pins bearing Carter’s photo.

“We want to pay our respects,” said 12-year-old Will Porter Shelbrock, who was born more than three decades after Carter left the White House in 1981. “He was ahead of his time on what he tried to do and tried to accomplish.”

It was Shelbrock’s idea to make the trip to Plains from Gainesville, Fla., with his grandmother, Susan Cone, 66, so they could witness the start of Carter's final journey. Shelbrock said he admires Carter for his humanitarian work building houses and waging peace, and for installing solar panels on the White House.

Carter and his late wife Rosalynn, who died in November 2023, were born in Plains and lived most of their lives in and around the town, with the exceptions of Jimmy's Navy career and his terms as Georgia governor and president.

The procession will stop in front of Carter's home on his family farm just outside of Plains. The National Park Service will ring the old farm bell 39 times to honor his place as the 39th president. Carter's remains then will proceed to Atlanta for a moment of silence in front of the Georgia Capitol and a ceremony at the Carter Presidential Center.

There, he will lie in repose until Tuesday morning, when he will be transported to Washington to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol. His state funeral is Thursday at 10 a.m. at Washington National Cathedral, followed by a return to Plains for an invitation-only funeral at Maranatha Baptist Church.

He will be buried near his home, next to Rosalynn Carter.

Bill Barrow, based in Atlanta, has covered national politics including multiple presidential campaigns for the AP since 2012.

People wait for a funeral procession for former President Jimmy Carter to move through downtown Plains, Ga., Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/)

People line the road before the hearse with the casket of former President Jimmy Carter departs Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus, Ga., Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. Carter died Dec. 29 at the age of 100. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)

Former and current U.S. Secret Service agents assigned to the Carter detail, move the flag-draped casket of former President Jimmy Carter, at Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus, Ga., Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. Carter died Dec. 29 at the age of 100. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)

FILE - Former President Jimmy Carter welcomes visitors to Maranatha Baptist Church before teaching Sunday school in Plains, Ga., June 8, 2014. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)

FILE - People wait in line outside Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Ga., to get into a Sunday school class taught by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter on Aug. 23, 2015. It was Carter's first lesson since announcing plans for intravenous drug doses and radiation to treat melanoma found in his brain after surgery to remove a tumor from his liver. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

People line the street in Plains, Ga., before the hearse carrying the casket of former President Jimmy Carter passes through the town Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. Carter died Dec. 29 at the age of 100. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)

FILE - Former President Jimmy Carter teaches Sunday school class at Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown, Aug. 23, 2015, in Plains, Ga. The 90-year-old Carter gave one lesson to about 300 people filling the small Baptist church that he and his wife, Rosalynn, attend. It was Carter's first lesson since detailing the intravenous drug doses and radiation treatment planned to treat melanoma found in his brain after surgery to remove a tumor from his liver. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)