Myles Straw ends homerless streak in Guardians loss to Rays

After what seemed like an eternity, an event which appeared destined never to happen again took place. In an unlikely turn of events, Cleveland Guardians center fielder Myles Straw hit a home run. 

Straw connected on a first pitch fastball in the upper part of the zone from Jason Adam, sending it over the fence in left center of all places. This was the first of the four runs scored by the Guardians during their late game rally to tie the game at 8.

The last time Myles Straw homered was on August 1, 2021, in a 2-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox. This home run from Straw ends a streak of 1,160 plate appearances over 716 days that saw 671 other major leaguers  hit a home run during Straw’s less than stellar streak. 

This is only the sixth major league home run in the six-year career of Myles Straw. Getting to double-digits in his career may be asking a bit much, but he is now one step closer to that possibility. Straw is a very light-hitting outfielder and any home run off his bat is a bonus. Other players in the Guardians’ lineup are counted on for power production while Straw is there for defense and speed on the basepaths. That is when Straw actually reaches base, which has not happened nearly enough this season. 

Despite the celebratory nature of this occasion, it was in a losing effort however, as Wander Franco was able to break an 8-8 tie in the bottom of the 9th to hand Cleveland the loss. 

On the bright side of things, Cleveland’s 3.5 game deficit remains as the Minnesota Twins were pummeled by the Philadelphia Phillies. The Guardians still have a chance for postseason play, but they must find a way to take advantage on days when Minnesota loses or their shot at making the playoffs disappears entirely.