*Photo from MLB.com*
Even into 2023, the legend of Steven Kwan continues. Josh Naylor drove in a run, Kwan had a 5 RBI game, and the Cleveland Guardians defeated the Seattle Mariners with a 9-4 victory on Friday night in Seattle.
After the Mariners shut out the Guardians on opening day, Cleveland bounced back as both teams are now 1-1 to start the season. Kwan was a big factor with his two hit, 5 RBI game. He became the second player in team history to have 5 RBI's in either of the first two games, joining Larry Doby.
Kwan said after the game that "I remember last year at the beginning, people were saying, ‘You’re why José is doing really well right now. He gets to see the pitches before he even gets up there, and that’s really valuable.' I take that to heart. There’s only so much I can do in the beginning of an at-bat, but if I can set the tone for everybody else, I think that’s really important."
The Mariners scored first, with Kolten Wong hitting an RBI single in the first inning to make it 1-0 Mariners early. Andres Gimenez and Oscar Gonzalez scored on two errors in the second inning, followed by a sac fly from Kwan to give the Guardians a 3-1 lead. Cal Raleigh tied the game 3-3 in the 3rd inning with a two run double.
In the 4th inning, Kwan gave the Guardians a 5-3 lead with a two run double. That didn't last long, as Julio Rodriguez doubled home Cooper Hummel as the Mariners cut the deficit to 5-4. Amed Rosario hit an RBI single in the top of the 5th, and Kwan added a two run single, extending the lead to 8-4. Josh Naylor then hit an RBI single in the 8th inning for an insurance run.
Guardians manager Terry Francona said of the win that "Our base running was excellent. We made them fight for everything. Zunino got in the way of that throw and I know that’s not by design, but that really helped us. Our base running then took over from there and really helped."
Nick Sandlin got the win for the Guardians with 1 1/3 shutout innings of relief. Hunter Gaddis started and lasted 3 2/3 innings, allowing 4 runs. After Sandlin departed, it was Eli Morgan, Enyel De Los Santos, Trevor Stephan, and Emmanuel Clase who sealed the win, each throwing an inning.
It was Robbie Ray who started for the Mariners, allowing 5 runs on 4 hits and 5 walks over just 3 1/3 innings, getting the loss. Trevor Gott pitched 1 1/3 innings, allowing 3 runs, and Penn Murfee got the last out of the 5th. Chris Flexen then came on and pitched the final 4 innings in long relief, allowing just one run.
Asked about what went wrong, Ray said that "I felt like the fastball was just kind of misfiring, and tonight everything was kind of just up and out of the zone, kind of non-competitive. One of those nights where I just had trouble finding the top of the zone and really driving the ball through."
The series continues on Saturday night as both teams vie for the series lead. Aaron Civale will start for the Guardians, while Logan Gilbert gets the ball for the Mariners.
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