CLEVELAND -- Manager Stephen Vogt was so excited to talk about how proud he was of Kyle Manzardo. He was beaming just thinking about what the rookie must’ve been feeling as he ran around the bases after hitting a go-ahead, two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth at a crucial point in the season against a division rival.

Suddenly, tears were welling in his eyes.

Vogt replayed Josh Naylor standing at second base with his arms in the air in his mind. He rewatched his dugout, exploding with excitement, as José Ramírez leaped out of his usual spot on the steps at the far end of the Guardians’ dugout, nearly sprinting onto the field in pure joy. All in a quick second, he relived the moment that Naylor was waiting at home plate to embrace Manzardo in celebration.

“I love these guys,” Vogt said, through tears. “They’re so much fun to watch. They love each other. They work hard. That was an emotional night. And to see two teammates come together like that, that’s powerful.”

This is what unity looks like. This is the team Vogt has grown and watched over the last 151 games. It doesn’t matter if it’s a rookie in the spotlight. It doesn’t matter if the two players embracing were once fighting for the same position on the Major League roster. This team just wants to win. And that passion was fully on display after Manzardo’s big swing led to the Guardians’ 4-3 win over the Twins on Monday night at Progressive Field.

The Guardians can still clinch a postseason berth as early as Wednesday, despite the fact that the Tigers beat the Royals on Monday. Plus, Kansas City’s loss moves them to five games back of Cleveland in the division race.

The Guardians are hoping to take the Twins completely out of the AL Central race over this four-game set. But they fell into an early three-run hole in the series opener, as starter Matthew Boyd was chased from the game in the third inning.

Cleveland chipped away and entered the eighth inning down by one. Naylor led off the frame with a double off Twins reliever Griffin Jax. Lane Thomas stuck out. It was time for Manzardo to walk to the plate.

“Going up there, watching film, knowing Jax likes to use the fastball up and in, I went up there and kind of just keyholed that spot,” Manzardo said.

Manzardo turned on a fastball that was, as expected, up and in, and sent it a Statcast-projected 407 feet into the seats in right field.

“Everyone that grows up wanting to play baseball has pretended that moment has happened from the time they could walk,” Vogt said.

“I floated a little bit,” Manzardo said of his trip around the bases. “I don’t remember all of it.”

This was a moment Manzardo has been waiting for. It was one he would’ve loved to enjoy during his first stint in the Majors, but over those six weeks, the slugger didn’t hit one ball out of the park.

At that time, Manzardo wasn’t used to serving solely as a DH and not moving his body when his team was on defense. He went back to Triple-A and worked on routines to stay ready in this role, so that by the time he came up to the Majors again, he’d be ready.

“Since he’s come back up, he just wants to help win and he’s trying different things in his routine,” Vogt said. “Watching the game is going to tell you the story and Manzo is learning that.”

This was the bat the Guardians traded for at last year’s Trade Deadline. This was the player they knew he could be. This was what the organization envisioned for his future in Cleveland. And now that it’s here, the team is savoring it.

As Manzardo stepped on the plate, he embraced Naylor and walked side-by-side with him back to the dugout, where the rest of the team was ready to douse him with love.

It’s safe to say that in this moment, as Vogt sat back and observed his team, he had his first “proud papa” moment of his young managerial career.

“My favorite part was Naylor at second base standing there, watching it, cheering, waiting for him at home plate with a smile on his face,” Vogt said with more tears in his eyes. “That’s the kind of stuff that this team does."