Guardians All-Star Ties Franchise History In ALDS Game 5

Game 5 of the ALDS got started with a little franchise history for the Cleveland Guardians.

Steven Kwan stepped into the box in the top of the first inning with Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal on the mound. Skubal took a perfect game into the fifth inning the last time he faced the Guardians, but Kwan started the game with a base hit.

This single extended Kwan’s postseason hitting streak to 10 games, which is tied with Kenny Lofton (1995) for the longest playoff-hitting streak in Cleveland franchise history. He had tied Tony Fernandez (1997) for the second-longest in Game 4.

The single that helped Kwan set franchise history almost wasn’t even ruled a hit. When Kwan made contact with the ball, it skipped past Skubal on the mound and ate up Andy Ibanez at second base. It was originally ruled an error on Ibanez but was quickly changed back to a base hit.

This isn’t the first time a Guardians batter has benefitted from a scoring change in this series. Jose Ramirez hit an RBI double in Game 1, but it was also originally ruled an error on Zach McKinstry. It took MLB over 24 hours and an appeal from the Guardians to rightfully change the play to a hit.

If the Guardians go on to beat the Tigers in Game 5, Kwan would have a chance to extend his hitting streak in the ALCS. Otherwise, he’ll have to wait until next fall and another hopefull Cleveland potseason appearence to set history.