First walk-off homer follows first All-Star Game for Travis Bazzana

CLEVELAND — Travis Bazzana‘s mind went blank, and Guardians fans went bonkers.

Bazzana — the rookie, the All-Star, the former No. 1 overall draft pick — is the brand new owner of his first walk-off home run, a two-run shot over the center-field wall that gave the Guardians a 5-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the second game of the July 18 doubleheader.

It capped a wild bottom of the ninth inning for the Guardians after catcher Patrick Bailey didn’t slide at home plate and was tagged out on what would have been the winning run. It was potentially a momentum-turning play. Two pitches later, Bazzana was being mobbed and doused by celebrating teammates in a moment of which every kid dreams.

“You kind of flow, black out, thoughts kind of go away, that’s a good thing,” Bazzana said postgame. “I feel good in those moments, up to bat. It was an awesome one with it being a Saturday night, long day, kind of a comeback win. It was great.”

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It continued what has been an eventful week for the 23-year-old from Australia. He didn’t start the season in the major leagues, but he played in the All-Star Game July 14 in Philadelphia as a rookie, came back to Cleveland and won the second game on July 19.

All-Star Game appearance? Check. Walk-off home run? Check.

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“Before the break, I obviously wasn’t swinging the hottest bat and trying to work through some things, just put out my best performances,” Bazzana said. “The All-Star Game was very exciting and [there will be] some memories I’ll cherish forever. I think it allowed me to reset, see some things. I feel strong coming back for the second half.”

The Guardians have heaped a great deal of responsibility on his shoulders as a rookie. In addition to taking over at second base (for at least the next six years, the Guardians hope), he’s also taken over the leadoff spot in the lineup. That’s all while he adjusts to, and competes against, major-league pitching for the first time.

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Along the way, the Guardians haven’t had too many second thoughts about what they’ve thrown at him so far as they hand him the keys as a major part of their present and future.

“Every player wants their firsts,” said manager Stephen Vogt. “You check all these boxes off: first hit, first home run, first walk-off, first All-Star Game. He’s checked a lot of them already in just three months, and he’s very mature. He’s a good player. He had a tough first game and what’d he do? He responded with an unbelievable second game today.”

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With the Guardians playing a split doubleheader (1:10 p.m. followed by a scheduled 7 p.m. start that was delayed by rain for more than an hour), there’s no doubt there were some fans who had been at the ballpark (or in the area) for around 11 hours by the time the second game concluded. They had waited all day to see that walk-off homer.

Bazzana had waited his whole life to hit it. Late in the night, they were all able to celebrate it together.

Ryan Lewis covers the Guardians for the Akron Beacon Journal. He can be reached at rlewis1@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: First walk-off homer follows first All-Star Game for Travis Bazzana