Steven Kwan’s Heroics Lead Guardians Over Astros In Extras
Wednesday night started with a Steven Kwan base hit off future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander. The game ended with Kwan solidifying a victory for the Cleveland Guardians thanks to a go-ahead double in extra innings and a game-saving diving catch in the bottom of the 10th inning.
Thanks to his heroics, the Guardians managed to sneak away with a 3-2 victory over the Houston Astors. That makes game three on Thursday night a rubber match for these two clubs.
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— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) May 2, 2024
This was Cleveland's fourth consecutive extra innings contest. That’s something that hasn’t been seen for this franchise since the 1910 season when they were referred to as the “Naps.” This team has looked gassed with all the extra baseball they’ve played and Kwan made sure to give them credit for it after the game.
“I think I just showed the resilience of our team. The boys, our staff, we’re never giving up. We’ve got a lot of life,” said Kwan.
As incredible as this sequence was, it almost never happened. Stephen Vogt revealed after the game that he and Kwan discussed laying down a sacrifice bunt to move Gabriel Arias and Brayan Rocchio up a bag.
"We were talking. We went back and forth. That was a great opportunity for a sac bunt and to get two runners into scoring position. But at the end of that day, it’s I trust him. If he’s feeling good, swing it. If not, do what you do,” said Vogt.
Kwan has earned that trust. His plate discipline is one of the best in baseball and he’s always shown the presence of mind to make the right play. Tonight was no different.
As Vogt said, “Kwan has come through for us over and over. He gets us started and tonight was him getting the huge hit and obviously the play to end it.”
TOMMY WILD