CLEVELAND — Mathematically, each individual win a team accrues over the course of a 162-game season counts the same in the standings. But some feel bigger than others.
That felt like the case for the Guardians on Friday night, and at the very least, it was memorable. Facing a Mariners team they are chasing in the American League Wild Card race, the Guardians erased a four-run first-inning deficit to rally for a 5-4 walk-off win at Progressive Field.
“It feels like a special one, especially kind of how the game started,” said left fielder Steven Kwan, whose sac fly in the ninth sent the Guardians home winners.
It was a poetic night, given the club held a pregame celebration for the 1995 Indians, who had a knack for pulling off comeback victories during their pennant-winning season. That club led the Majors with 48 such wins.
This weekend’s matchup with the Mariners stands as much of a must-win as any this season for the Guardians. Seattle entered Friday holding the AL’s final Wild Card spot, and they swept Cleveland in June. Head-to-head record is used to determine postseason tiebreakers.
“It’s huge,” manager Stephen Vogt said of the series Friday afternoon. “Every series is huge from here on out. We play the teams we’re chasing, and we have an opportunity to gain games in the standings against them. You can’t ask for anything more than that.”
The Guardians (67-66) face an uphill battle with one month to go, but they pulled to within four games of the Mariners (72-63) for the third AL Wild Card spot.
Friday’s win was a team-wide effort. As the Guardians kicked off a stretch of 17 games in 17 days, Logan Allen settled in to throw six innings after allowing four runs on five hits and a walk in a 29-pitch first inning. He allowed just three baserunners after that. Brayan Rocchio, who moved defensively from second to shortstop in the second inning when Gabriel Arias left the game following a hit-by-pitch, hit a game-tying single in the ninth. Kwan delivered the final blow.
Nolan Jones found himself at the center of it all over the final few innings. He sparked things with his arm and his bat.
Jones homered in the bottom of the seventh to cut the Guardians’ deficit to 4-2. In the eighth, he made an incredible throw from the right-field corner to third base to nab Randy Arozarena, who tried to stretch a double. Jones then led off the bottom of the ninth with a double and scored the tying run on Rocchio’s single.
The throw, funny enough, stemmed from what Jones called a bad read. Arozarena’s fly ball one-hopped the right-field wall, and Jones acknowledged he got too close to it. The ball bounced over his leap and outstretched arm on a deflection.
“I tried to make a great play of getting the ball off the wall quickly and trying to throw him out at second,” Jones said. “It jumped over my head, and I kind of saw him keep going, so I just picked it up and threw it as hard as I could to third.”
No kidding. Jones’ throw from deep right field got to third baseman José Ramírez on one hop. Ramírez tagged out Arozarena. Mariners manager Dan Wilson appeared to contend that Arozarena was obstructed on the play, as Ramírez’s feet impeded the slide into the bag, but it was to no avail.
Jones has recorded seven outfield assists this season (10th in the Majors) and Kwan has 12 (first). Among outfielders who have made at least 50 throws this season, Jones entered the day ranked fourth in average arm strength (96.1 mph).
“I play catch with him every day. I have to make sure I’m locked in,” Kwan said. “You can’t talk to somebody to your left or your right. … You’ve got to catch in the pocket. I’ve seen the arm strength plenty of times, and it’s no surprise. Especially when it comes out with a little momentum, I think it’s the best arm in the big leagues, and everybody got to see it right there.”
Jones entered the day with four homers and a .614 OPS this season. He’s been huge for the Guardians the past two games.
“He’s had a great couple days, and I’m excited for him,” said Vogt, alluding to Jones’ game-tying homer in the ninth on Wednesday. “We talked about it the other day. He has not had the best season.
“But for him to continue to work, continue to be willing to make adjustments with our hitting team, and to see it start to get some results, it’s just been great.”
