Quartet of Guardians steps up when needed the most

CLEVELAND -- And … exhale.

The Guardians need to rack up more runs across more games than just the five they scored in Tuesday’s 5-4 victory over the Tigers at Progressive Field before we can declare that the offensive skid is over, but getting back in the win column is step one. And even though it got hairy in the late innings, they did just that.

The Guardians avoided their first four-game losing streak of the year by taking game two of four against Detroit. Cleveland, Philadelphia and Milwaukee remain the only three teams to not yet endure a four-game skid.

But this was about way more than consecutive defeats. The Guardians need to pull themselves out of the rut they had found themselves in. Coming into Tuesday, they had lost eight of their last 11 games, while scoring two or fewer runs in seven of those losses. Not to mention the fact that they had also lost nine of their last 13 matchups against AL Central opponents.

The win was big, but the way they won was even bigger.

As much as relievers Cade Smith and Scott Barlow played crucial roles in making sure this victory was secured, this one came down to the offense -- something that had been lacking over the last few weeks. And the guys who stepped up are the ones the team needs the most in the second half of the season.

Steven Kwan
Kwan has been the best leadoff hitter imaginable this season. At times, his average floated around .400 and it seemed impossible for opponents to get him out. But entering the night, he had slashed .229/.260/.250 in his previous 12 games with just one extra-base hit and four runs scored. His last RBI came on July 6.

All of that changed on Tuesday. It was Kwan who got Cleveland on the board with a solo homer in the third, starting a trio of consecutive leadoff homers by him, Jhonkensy Noel and José Ramírez in the third, fourth and fifth innings. It was the first time Cleveland had three consecutive leadoff homers since Sept. 9, 1955 (Al Smith, Ralph Kiner and Al Rosen).

We can keep the jokes of Kwan now being a power hitter going, but the most important thing is that he got some life back in his bat, along with a walk and a single.

Jhonkensy Noel and Angel Martínez
Speaking of Noel, he unleashed a 108.9 mph laser over the left-field wall to tie the game in the fourth inning.

“It's no joke that he's a power hitter, and I think other teams know that. They try to work their way around it, and they still are not executing their plans,” Kwan said. “He's been lifting us up throughout this whole year, so it's been fun to watch.”

Martínez gave the team some breathing room with a sacrifice fly in the sixth before he doubled in the eighth.

These two were a jolt of energy for this club heading into the All-Star break. Depending on what the Guardians do at the Trade Deadline, these two may be even more critical.

Let’s say Cleveland doesn’t add a bat before 6 p.m. ET on July 30. That means the team needs to look internally for answers. And if these two -- both of whom can play right field (which is an area the Guardians may look to improve externally) -- can catch fire, that may solve a lot of Cleveland’s problems.

José Ramírez
Do we even need to explain this one?

The Guardians can’t go far without Ramírez leading the way. They know this. They’ve been waiting for someone to get the big hit to help them break out of this funk and, of course, it was Ramírez who delivered with the go-ahead solo homer in the fifth. It snapped a season-high stretch of 78 plate appearances without a long ball.

“I'm sure the pressure valve got released for him,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “It might've been the longest stretch of his life without hitting a home run.”

Ramírez added what became the deciding run on a single in the sixth, reminding everyone it’s not time to press the panic button yet. The Guardians are 39-11 in games in which Ramírez records at least one RBI this season.

If he goes, they go.

“It doesn't matter where we're at in the season or what's going on,” Kwan said. “He's our guy for a reason.”