Outfielder Steven Kwan of the Cleveland Guardians was not included in manager Terry Francona’s starting lineup for Sunday’s series finale against the Cubs due to a painful shoulder he sustained late in Saturday’s 6-0 victory by Cleveland.
Kwan had played in each of the team’s first 80 games, making this the second game in the series he had missed.
To end the seventh inning on a ball hit by Tucker Barnhart at Wrigley Field, Kwan made a sliding catch against the wall down the left field line. The grab David Fry made in Friday’s series opener, which led to Fry colliding with the wall in the same general area, was mirrored in the play.
Kwan finished the game 1 for 4 with a double, run scored, and a walk, but he told Francona when he got to the ballpark on Sunday that he was still a little sore. Cleveland didn’t have a chance to practice on the field prior to Sunday’s game, so the captain decided it would be better to rest the 25-year-old.
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“He was in (the trainer’s room) trying to get going and they were heating him up and I’m like, you know what? I hate to wait till like 20 minutes before the game and tell (David) Fry he’s playing,” Francona said. “And sometimes if a guy needs a day, maybe it’s really helpful.”
Kwan, a left fielder who stands 5-foot-9 and weighs 170 pounds and plays with little regard for his own safety, has missed just two games this year. Given the value he adds to the lineup, Francona claimed that sitting the Gold Glove Award winner was not an easy choice.
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“He’s a hard guy to give a day off because he leads off against lefties and righties and he plays left field really well,” Francona said. “He’s just a hard guy to replace. But then you kind of think, OK, if you get a little stubborn, then you might lose him for a week, which doesn’t make a lot of sense.”
