HOUSTON – Steven Kwan gave Cleveland the lead with his RBI double in the 10th inning and made a diving catch to start a double play in the bottom of the inning to lead the Guardians to a 3-2 win over the Houston Astros on Wednesday night.
Shawn Dubin (0-1) walked Brayan Rocchio to start the 10th before Kwan doubled down the left field line to score the automatic runner and put the Guardians on top 3-2.
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Cade Smith (1-0) got the last two outs of the ninth for the win and closer Emmanuel Clase pitched a perfect 10th for his ninth save.
There was one out in the 10th when Mauricio Dubón hit a fly ball into shallow left field where Kwan made a diving catch before throwing to second to retire the automatic runner and end the game.
Manager Stephen Vogt raved about Kwan, who is a two-time Gold Glove award winner.
“Kwan has come through for us over and over,” Vogt said. “He gets us started and tonight getting the huge hit and then obviously the play to end it, there’s gold out there for a reason. That’s beautiful.”
Kwan singled in the first inning and had an RBI triple in the fifth inning to finish a home run shy of the cycle and end Cleveland’s two-game skid.
He leads the majors with seven three-hit games and is first in the American League with 45 hits. He's the fifth player in franchise history with at least seven three-hit games through the first 30 games and the first since Lyn Lary had 10 in 1937.
Kwan was asked which he enjoyed more Wednesday, his work at the plate or in the field.
“The defense is probably really good,” he said. “Just the work that I put in day in and day out with that and to kind of see some results with that, it feels really good.”
It was the fourth straight extra-inning game for the Guardians, matching a franchise record set in 1910. Cleveland’s seven extra-inning games this season leads the majors and is the second-most through 30 games in team history, behind the 1910 team.
Houston won the series opener 10-9 in 10 innings Tuesday in a game where closer Josh Hader pitched two innings, making him unavailable Wednesday.
Will Brennan homered for the Guardians and David Fry added two hits.
Kyle Tucker tied it with a solo homer in the seventh and Dubón doubled twice for the Astros, who had won three in a row.
Cleveland starter Triston McKenzie allowed five hits and two runs with six strikeouts in seven innings. It was his longest outing since 2022 after the 26-year-old was limited to just four starts last season because of shoulder and elbow injuries.
Justin Verlander yielded six hits and two runs with three walks in seven innings in his third start this season.
“That's a great performance,” manager Joe Espada said. “We needed him to go deep in the game and he did just that. Gave us a chance to win the game and that's Justin Verlander at his best right there.”
Brennan put the Guardians up 1-0 when he homered to open the fifth inning. Rocchio drew a two-out walk before scoring when Kwan tripled for the second straight game making it 2-0.
Rocchio slid into home safely just before catcher Victor Caratini could get the tag down.
Dubón doubled down the left field line with one out in the sixth. The Astros cut the lead to 2-1 when he scored on Jose Altuve’s single.
Tucker tied it at 2-2 when he sent McKenzie’s third pitch of the seventh inning to the second deck in right field for his eighth homer this season.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Guardians: RHP Eli Morgan (right shoulder inflammation) will begin a rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Columbus this weekend.
Astros: OF Chas McCormick was placed on the injured list with discomfort in his right hamstring Wednesday and INF Jacob Amaya was recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land to take his roster spot. … RHP Cristian Javier (neck discomfort), who was scratched from his scheduled start April 21, threw a bullpen Wednesday and manager Joe Espada said he could come off the injured list this weekend. … RHP José Urquidy, who hasn’t pitched this season because of an elbow injury, threw around 20 pitches in live batting practice Wednesday. Espada said he’ll likely begin a minor league rehabilitation assignment after throwing live batting practice once more.
UP NEXT
Houston RHP Spencer Arrighetti (0-3, 10.37 ERA) opposes LHP Logan Allen (3-1, 5.46) in the series finale Thursday night.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB