'He's back to being him': Kwan at center of Guards' win despite drop in lineup

DETROIT -- The Guardians can always count on Steven Kwan to play strong defense in left and center field. That’s a key element of the four-time Gold Glove Award winner’s stardom, along with an elite hit tool that has lagged behind this season and led to Kwan’s demotion from Cleveland’s leadoff spot.

It’s only been a few games, but Kwan has responded well to being moved down in the lineup, all while continuing to play plus defense. That was on full display Tuesday, in the Guardians’ 4-3 win over the Tigers at Comerica Park.

Hitting seventh in the Guardians' lineup, Kwan went 1-for-2 with one walk, a sacrifice fly, a double and one run scored. His sac fly got Cleveland on the board in the second inning, and he put the Guardians ahead in the seventh when he hit a leadoff double and scored on a Brayan Rocchio groundout.

Immediately before his double, Kwan made an impressive sliding catch in foul territory down the left-field line to end the sixth inning. He covered 104 feet, according to Statcast, to snag the drive hit by Detroit’s Wenceel Pérez.

The Guardians demoted Kwan from the leadoff spot on Saturday, which marked his first start anywhere else in their lineup since June 18, 2022. In four games since, he has gone 2-for-8 with eight walks compared to just two strikeouts while batting sixth and seventh twice apiece.

“He’s back to being him,” manager Stephen Vogt said pregame Tuesday. “He’s not trying to do too much. He's just trying to go up there and have a quality at-bat. Again, whether he's hitting first, seventh, sixth, it's still Steven Kwan. They're still aware of him when he gets there, and in some ways, it's made our lineup a lot longer with him down there.

“He's just done a phenomenal job. I really appreciate the way he's taken it, too. It's not easy and the conversation we had went well. He was like, ‘I just want to help us win any way I can.’