The Cleveland Guardians made a bit of a surprising decision to open the postseason.
Their Game 1 lineup to face the Detroit Tigers didn't include Bo Naylor.
The young catcher has been pretty dialed in lately at the plate, but he wasn't in Stephen Vogt's starting nine on Tuesday.
Instead, Austin Hedges got the start at catcher batting ninth.
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Why is Austin Hedges starting over Bo Naylor?
The Guardians started Hedges over Naylor for handedness and leadership.
The lefty-swinging Naylor was in for a tough matchup at the plate against the left-handed ace Tarik Skubal.
Hedges is also regarded as a great clubhouse presence, leader, and defender.
The one problem: Hedges is only a .161 hitter this season.
The Guardians will likely go to Naylor at the first pinch-hitting opportunity late in the game if they can knock Skubal out of the game at some point.
With Hedges in the lineup, though, that'll make it just a little bit harder to hit well enough against Skubal to push him out of the game in the first place.
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