Jhonkensy Noel hit a home run for the Cleveland Guardians during Thursday afternoon’s game against the Detroit Tigers. And while we can’t say that the call immediately preceding it from Detroit play-by-play man Jason Benetti was an “announcer jinx,” the timing was definitely notable.
With one out and nobody on base in the fourth inning, Noel came to the plate against Detroit pitcher Tarik Skubal. The at-bat started well for Skubal, who quickly went ahead 0-2 against Noel. Before Skubal delivered the 0-2 pitch, Benetti noted Noel’s nickname and wondered if, at least on Thursday, Skubal had another nickname.
“If Jhonkensy Noel is Big Christmas, does that make Tarik Skubal, just for today, The Grinch?”
Immediately after Benetti asked that question, Skubal delivered an 0-2 pitch that he would immediately want back. Noel took full advantage of the mistake, drilling a game-tying home run.
— Vid Clip Hero (@VidClipHero) September 19, 2025
“Well, Noel fly ball to left field and oh, my goodness,” Benetti said. “Christmas wins. It’s a tie game at 1. Noel reached out and plunged it to left. Not in the holiday spirit here in the fourth.”
That, of course, depends on who you ask. We can only guess that for the Guardians and their fans, Noel’s long ball was very much in the holiday spirit.
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