Guardians’ Austin Hedges makes wild claim right to Josh Naylor’s face

Austin Hedges and Josh Naylor had some verbal exchanges for each other during the Cleveland Guardians’ clash with the Seattle Mariners on Sunday night.

Naylor and Hedges played together for four full seasons together on the Guardians and San Diego Padres. They last played together in 2024 before Cleveland traded Naylor to the Arizona Diamondbacks then the Mariners, who re-signed him last offseason.

The fun began when Naylor stuck an elbow out against Guardians reliever Tim Herrin. Under the strict letter of the MLB rulebook, a batter must attempt to get out of a pitch’s way to be granted a HBP, but it’s rarely enforced that way.

Hedges visibly didn’t like the call and said as much. He prompted Naylor to yell, “You f***ing loser,” per the lip-readers at Jomboy, and later make a wanking motion at him. Hedges’ response: “No one likes you. Literally nobody likes you.” Naylor was later seen saying “Do something about it” to Hedges at the end of the inning.

"Literally nobody likes you." -Austin Hedges to his former teammate Josh Naylor pic.twitter.com/nRWbGrEN07

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) June 29, 2026

How Austin Hedges, Guardians played against Mariners

Austin Hedges got the edge over Josh Naylor as he helped the Guardians take down the Mariners 6-5 in the series finale.

Seattle jumped out to a 3-0 lead after three innings, not conceding a run until Cleveland got on the board until the fifth frame. The Mariners added another score the following inning, but the Guardians came alive with five huge runs in the eighth frame, fending off a response from Seattle to secure the win.

Gavin Williams started on the mound as he lasted five innings, striking out six batters while conceding six hits and two runs. Meanwhile, Matt Festa earned his second win of the season and Cade Smith got his 26th save of the campaign.

Cleveland improved to a 44-40 record on the season, holding the second spot in the AL Central Division standings. They are above the Minnesota Twins and the Detroit Tigers while trailing the Chicago White Sox.

The Guardians will look forward to their next series, remaining at home. They take on the Texas Rangers as Game 1 will commence on June 29 at 7:10 p.m. ET.

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