‘You’re playing with house money’: Kwan’s clutch catch comes with just enough leather

CLEVELAND — Every out is massively magnified in the postseason, but that was particularly true in Game 2 of the American League Division Series between the Guardians and Tigers on Monday afternoon — and especially in one of the day’s most defining moments.

In a scoreless tie with two outs in the top of the eighth inning, Steven Kwan made a remarkable diving catch in the left-center-field gap, corralling the baseball under the padding of the left thumb portion of his glove to prevent a possible run from scoring and bail the Guardians out of a tense jam.

So close was the ball to hitting the grass that it prompted Tigers manager A.J. Hinch to sacrifice his challenge, but replay review upheld the call.

Detroit wound up rallying an inning later, though, when Kerry Carpenter crushed a two-out, three-run homer off Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase to give the Tigers a 3-0 win to even this best-of-five ALDS at 1-1 as the series shifts to Comerica Park.

“It’s kind of freeing,” Kwan said. “It’s two outs — you have to dive. Whether you do or you don’t, that’s just one of those things where you have to just try to at least make the play.”

With just 3.2 seconds to react, Kwan covered 47 feet while racing to his left and converted a play that had just a 10% catch probability, according to Statcast — making it the best catch of his three-year career by that metric. His previous best was 15% on a catch that robbed the Astros’ Jose Altuve of a hit on June 9, 2023.

Monday’s catch, though, featured much higher stakes.

With runners on first and second base and the Tigers threatening, Guardians manager Stephen Vogt turned to Clase — the favorite to win MLB’s Reliever of the Year Award — to face lefty-hitting Wenceel Pérez. Pérez fell into a 1-2 count and then punched a 98.3 mph, middle-in cutter on his hands to the opposite field — an impressive piece of hitting in its own right.

“As soon as I hit it, I was like barking to myself, thinking that I got him,” Pérez said. “But I know Kwan is a Gold Glove guy. I think he got a pretty good jump on it and I think he caught it.”

Detroit had good speed on the basepaths, too, with Matt Vierling on second and Riley Greene on first. Had the ball bounced out of Kwan’s glove, Vierling likely would’ve scored easily — he was halfway between third and the plate when left-field umpire Nick Mahrley signaled the out — and had it gotten past the diving Kwan, who would’ve been in a vulnerable position with his chest down on the playing surface, Greene might’ve been able to race home, too.

“There’s no risk,” Kwan said. “I mean, if you let it drop, the run scores. If you let it go by, the run scores. So again, it’s kind of like you’re playing with house money.”

Playing at a starting depth of 272 feet, far more shallow than his season average at Progressive Field of 294 feet, Kwan kept his right fingers down when angling towards the ball, then once it met the inside of his glove, he rolled his wrist away from the ground to ensure it didn’t escape.

“We have specific positioning with Clase, especially,” Kwan said. “It’s hard for lefties to really be able to drive him like that. So, we got an extra step on [Pérez] there.”

As Kwan pushed himself off the ground, he first raised his glove while on one knee to signal that he made the catch. It was only after looking over at Mahrley seeking confirmation that he began shouting in celebration.

“When he bounced up emotional, I couldn’t tell if he was good at poker or if he actually really caught it,” Hinch said, adding that he had no hesitation in challenging given how late it was in the game and how close it appeared to touching the ground.

“I was looking for some blade of grass, maybe one that was grown a little higher than the other to show on the board. They only showed us the one.”

Kwan, reaffirming his belief that he indeed made the catch, also suggested that he understood why Detroit challenged.

“When you see it on the video, it definitely looks like there could be some different opinions,” Kwan said.

The Tigers were forced to regather themselves, boosted by a scoreless eighth inning from reliever Will Vest to set up the dagger an inning later. But Kwan’s big play nonetheless underscored how tight and tense Game 2 was — setting up more potential thrills now that the series is tied.