Party hearty: Napoli taps into big-time power

MINNEAPOLIS — Mike Napoli did not see the baseball land. After he took his mighty hack, the Indians slugger put his head down and began his trot. He knew it was gone. Napoli heard the gasp of the crowd, and the shouting from the visitors’ dugout at Target Field.

“I knew I hit it pretty good,” Napoli said after the Indians’ 5-4 win over the Twins on Friday night.

Pretty good? Napoli absolutely crushed a breaking ball from Minnesota right-hander Tyler Duffey to open the fifth inning. The shot soared into the night and crashed into the third deck well above and beyond the left-field wall. Few players put baseballs there, and even fewer fans with tickets to those seats bring a baseball glove to the ballpark.

This is old hat for Nap, though. The veteran first baseman has been flashing his prodigious power all season. This particular feat of strength broke a 4-4 tie and put Cleveland on its way to a ninth win in 11 games, keeping the club’s division lead at six games over the Tigers in the American League Central. It marked Napoli’s 32nd home run of the season and gave him a career-high 93 RBIs. 

It was also the longest, and hardest-hit home run of the year for a Cleveland batter.

“That’s good for bragging rights,” Indians outfielder Rajai Davis said. “That’s an awesome, great feeling. I don’t think I’ve ever hit the ball that far in batting …

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