CLEVELAND, Ohio — Steven Kwan was grumpy as he stood in left field Tuesday night at Progressive Field.

He was on his way to an 0 for 4 game that would extend his slump to 1 for 18.

In the fifth inning, the three-time Gold Glove winner was charged with an error on a throw to Jose Ramirez at third base. The throw skipped past the bag as two runs scored on Dan Myers’ single, allowing the Marlins to cut the Guardians’ lead to 3-2.

Heriberto Hernandez did not improve Kwan’s mood when he followed with a double down the left field line to score Myers and tie the game at 3-3.

Kwan was still grousing when he returned to left field in the sixth inning. Nic Enright had replaced starter Logan Allen by that time. The score was still tied, 3-3, but Enright issued two walks to put runners on first and second base with two out.

That’s when Marlins catcher Agustin Ramirez sent a single to left field with the lead runner, Eric Wagaman, headed for home. Kwan initially felt he had a chance to catch the ball, but pulled up and played it on the bounce.

“It was a sinking line drive, and I had to make an awkward little catch,“ said Kwan. ”I’m just glad I got a glove on it. Then it’s just one of those things where you catch and release the ball.

“Thankfully, Bo (Naylor, catcher) was there to corral it and make the tag. I think it was a little bit toward the first base dugout, so I mean props to him for collecting that ball and getting the tag in.”

Yes, there were two out, so it made sense for third base coach Blake Lalli to send Wagaman. But when teams run on Kwan, they do so at their own peril.

He leads the big leagues with 11 outfield assists. The 11 assists are the most by a Cleveland outfielder within the first 118 games of the season since Kwan’s former teammate Myles Straw did itd in 2021.

The throw improved Kwan’s mood.

“I was probably a little grumpy on that throw,” said Kwan. “I had an earlier opportunity that I didn’t convert and then, obviously, that turned into a ton of runs.

“I think maybe I played for the tie there — like I maybe righted my wrongs on that. But I I don’t think I was able to appreciate it as much because of the error before.“

There are two things that Kwan can appreciate from Tuesday night’s 3-2 win; the Guardians improved play and Ramirez.

The Guardians have won 22 of their last 30 games. On July 7, the Guardians trailed the Tigers by 15 1/2 games in the AL Central. They have closed to within six games and trail the Yankees by one game for the third and final wild card spot.

Ramirez homered with two out in the first inning for the early lead. He homered again in the bottom of the eighth to break the 3-3 tie and make him the franchise leader in multi-homer games with 27.

“We make a joke of it,” said Kwan. “He’s like our dad taking care of us. He’s putting his team on his back doing what he does. It was cool to see.”

As for the Guardians improved play, Kwan points to the game’s building blocks.

“I think just working on fundamentals again,” he said. “I guess it’s ironic I had the error tonight, but just turning double plays. Getting the runners in (from third base). Brayan Rocchio has been amazing at that.

“I mean, every run matters and we’re just getting contributions for everybody, which is awesome. Obviously Jose is great, but if he’s doing it by himself, it’s really hard to win games. And the pitchers have been doing their job top to bottom.”

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