Hedges' instinct -- and wheels -- pay off, spark Guards' victory

KANSAS CITY -- With the Guardians in the midst of a three-game lull, they needed some type of spark. Backup catcher Austin Hedges and designated hitter Chase DeLauter were just the guys to provide it.

Trailing the Royals by a run in the fifth inning on Wednesday, Cleveland went the bold route with a double steal that had Hedges on the front end taking third with one out, with Petey Halpin swiping second behind him. DeLauter followed with a go-ahead two-run single to left, a sequence that proved crucial in the Guardians’ 3-1 victory at Kauffman Stadium.

For Hedges, it marked just the second time in his career that he pulled off a steal of third, after doing the same April 9 of last season against the White Sox. DeLauter rewarded the daring baserunning when he slapped a Luinder Avila pitch the other way to put Cleveland in position to play with a lead.

Starter Joey Cantillo allowed just one run on three hits over five innings and the Guardians’ bullpen mixed and matched the rest of the way as Cleveland snapped a three-game losing streak.

The Guardians picked up an insurance run in the eighth on David Fry’s RBI groundout and will now go for a split of the four-game series on Thursday.

The double steal with Hedges going from second came after the 33-year-old backstop noticed Avila wasn’t paying attention to him.

“I just tried to take a chance,” Hedges said. “The [pitcher] wasn’t really looking and I shuffled into it.”

The play at third turned out to be close, but Hedges got there in time, trail runner Halpin alertly watching the play and taking second.

“We are taught to be aggressive on the bases,” Hedges said. “If there’s a situation you think you can take advantage of, [manager Stephen] Vogt gives us the freedom to do that. Today was a good one for us.”

It was a daring decision by Hedges. If he had been thrown out at third, it would have severely hampered Cleveland’s hopes of erasing a 1-0 deficit in that frame.

"It’s hard to score runs,” Hedges said. “So you have to take some chances in this game. We took the chance and we won the game.”

Even after the double steal, the Guardians still needed the big hit with men at second and third. DeLauter came through while showing the bat control the 24-year-old phenom has displayed all year.

“He’s a superstar,” Hedges said. “With what he has been doing early in his career, the sky is the limit for that kid. He has a lot of clubs in his bag. If he needs to whip out the driver, we know he can do that. But he brought out the putter for that one and that’s all we needed.”

Although he had only thrown 70 pitches, Cantillo was lifted after five innings. The Cleveland bullpen worked four scoreless the rest of the way, with Matt Festa getting the sixth and Erik Sabrowski, Hunter Gaddis and Cade Smith finishing the job in expert fashion.

“Unbelievable,” Vogt said of the bullpen effort. “There have been a few little blips here and there, but for the most part our bullpen has been solid.”