CHICAGO -- Steven Kwan called it divine intervention.
Before the Guardians pulled out a 4-3 win over the White Sox in 10 innings at Rate Field on Wednesday, Cleveland was clinging to a one-run lead in the seventh. The game was at a potential turning point, as Chicago had the tying run at second base with two outs.
All the while, as Kwan stood in left field, he could not see.
“The sun ended up coming out,” Kwan said. “For two batters, the sun was right in my eyes. I was like, ‘All right, I guess I’m just wearing this.’”
Kwan is a four-time American League Gold Glove Award winner in left field, but the sun is a formidable opponent for any outfielder. It left the 28-year-old in a bit of a helpless position, as he had no sunglasses with him in the field of play.
So, how did Kwan end up making an incredible inning-ending catch, which loomed rather large in the Guardians’ victory? It started with a split-second decision.
First pitch on Wednesday was delayed two hours and 40 minutes by rain, on a dreary day in Chicago. It’s why Kwan had no sunglasses, but that proved problematic when the sun started to come out, out of nowhere, right as Chicago began to rally from its 2-0 deficit.
Lefty Erik Sabrowski allowed a single to Kyle Teel and a double to Colson Montgomery. After Braden Montgomery hit a one-out sacrifice fly that cut Cleveland’s lead to one run, manager Stephen Vogt called for a pitching change.
Kwan thought about grabbing center fielder Petey Halpin’s sunglasses, but he knows Halpin likes to wear them. So, as Colin Holderman began to trot to the mound from the Guardians’ bullpen, Kwan made his move. He sprinted to the Guardians’ dugout for his saving grace.
“I was like, ‘I’m just going to wear this,’” said Kwan, who went 2-for-4. “‘What are the odds the ball is going to come to me?' Pitching change came, and I was like, 'OK, this might be divine intervention. Let me just go grab them. I can’t be too proud.’”
It was a shrewd decision. Randal Grichuk lined Holderman’s third pitch to the left-center-field gap. Kwan got on his horse and made a full-extension catch as he began falling to the ground. It got the Guardians out of the inning with a 2-1 lead.
“I definitely needed those glasses there,” Kwan said. "It helped me feel more confident, having a direct route instead of kind of going around to it. It was super helpful.”
Kwan can perhaps file that moment away for later, if he’s chewing on one of an outfielder’s most pressing questions: sunglasses, or no sunglasses?