CLEVELAND -- Off the bat, it looked like a potential storybook moment for Josh Naylor in his return to Cleveland.
His old teammate and buddy, Steven Kwan, had other plans.
Kwan robbed Naylor of a sure-fire game-tying hit on Saturday, in the Guardians’ 4-3 win over the Mariners at Progressive Field, when he made a full-extension diving catch in the left-center-field gap to end the sixth inning.
Had Naylor’s drive gotten by Kwan, Julio Rodríguez almost assuredly would have scored from first base. Instead, Kwan got starter Gavin Williams out of the inning unscathed.
It was a pivotal play for the Guardians (68-66), who held on to win to pull to within three games of the Mariners (72-64) for the final American League Wild Card spot. Cleveland has a chance at a sweep on Sunday.
“Off the bat, I didn't think he had a shot at it,” said first baseman Kyle Manzardo, who had a direct view of the play. “I was looking, hoping that we could keep the run from scoring, and he Superman-ed it.”
“He hit it really well,” Kwan said. “I had to kind of make a direct v-line for that, and thankfully I came down with that ball.”
The Guardians led 2-1 in the sixth when Naylor stepped up for a two-out matchup against Williams. Kwan played three seasons with Naylor before Cleveland traded the first baseman to Arizona on Dec. 21 last offseason. Given the time they shared as teammates, there is a strong level of familiarity there.
Kwan noted he knows Naylor likes to go after the first pitch. He’s right: Entering Saturday, Naylor had a first-pitch swing percentage of 45.6 percent this season. That was 14th in the Majors among hitters who had seen at least 300 pitches.
Naylor got a first-pitch 95.5 mph four-seamer from Williams and drove it out toward the gap in left-center.
“Maybe that, like, ounce of a half-step on him there [helped],” Kwan said. “And I think from there, it was just instincts.”
Kwan got a 5.2-foot jump on the play, according to Statcast. He covered 81 feet and laid out just in front of the warning track to make the snag. He recorded a 29.1 feet per second sprint speed on the catch, which is tied for his fastest this season.
Nolan Jones emphatically high-fived Kwan after he made the catch. Williams (who stood still on the mound while watching the play develop) threw both of his arms up in the air in celebration.
“I've seen him make a lot of good plays, and that might be up there in the top two,” Williams said of Kwan. “I probably wouldn't say it's number two either. It was a pretty insane play.”
Kwan’s catch loomed large, as did his RBI single in the seventh inning. After Williams held Seattle to one run on four hits over seven innings, Rodríguez hit a two-run homer off Hunter Gaddis in the eighth that cut Cleveland’s three-run lead to one.
Cade Smith came on and recorded a four-out save while striking out three Mariners hitters.
Kwan and Naylor grew close over their time together as teammates with Cleveland. As Naylor recounted his Guardians tenure on Saturday afternoon and what he looks back on fondly, he rattled off a bunch of teammates with whom he grew close to -- including Kwan.
“I met a ton of great people here,” Naylor said pregame. “We had a lot of great years here when it comes to team camaraderie and having fun off the field. … I had a lot of great moments with a lot of great teammates here.”
With Naylor now on the other side, Kwan is maintaining his respect for him as a competitor and doesn’t want to bother him this weekend. Maybe they will chat about the catch after Sunday’s finale or down the line.
If they don’t, well, Kwan said, “It'll be nice to have that one on him, for sure.”
It was another shining moment for Kwan, who is vying to win his fourth straight Gold Glove Award this season. The 27-year-old shouted out Guardians outfield and baserunning coach J.T. Maguire for having him in the right position to make the play.
Kwan said Maguire doesn’t like the spotlight, but his work behind the scenes is crucial to the Guardians day in and day out.
“He doesn't let us get complacent there,” Kwan said. “We work every day. I think it'd be really easy -- especially this time of the season -- to just be like, ‘I don't really feel like it today.’ He's keeping us accountable, which is huge.”