In the top of the third inning on Friday night in Texas, something remarkable happened. Catcher Bo Naylor hit a two-run home run, and later in the same inning, his brother Josh Naylor also hit a two-run shot. This makes them the first set of brothers to hit home runs in the same inning for the same team since 2013.
Josh has been performing well all season, with 12 home runs and 66 RBI. Bo, who is a rookie in his 16th game of the season, hit his second career homer. This rare occurrence highlights the uniqueness of having brothers in the majors, let alone on the same team, and witnessing both of them going deep in the same inning.
According to MLB stats expert Sarah Langs, there have been six instances of brothers homering in the same inning for the same team in the expansion era of baseball:
- Hank and Tommie Aaron of the Braves on July 12, 1962
- Billy and Cal Ripken of the Orioles on Sept. 15, 1990
- The Ripken brothers again on May 28, 1996
- B.J. and Justin Upton of the Braves on April 6, 2013
- The Upton brothers again on April 23, 2013
- Bo and Josh Naylor of the Guardians on July 14, 2023
Furthermore, what makes the Naylor brothers’ accomplishment even more special is that they are the first brothers ever to hit multi-run homers in the same inning. The previous instances listed above included at least one solo home run, whereas both Bo and Josh hit two-run shots.
