The Cleveland Guardians outfielders make baseball history with victory in ALDS Game 5

On Saturday, the Cleveland Guardians defeated the Detroit Tigers 7-3 in Game 5 of the American League Division Series. The Guardians won the series 3-2 and will face the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series. That starts on Monday evening.

In Saturday’s win, Guardians star Steven Kwan went 3-for-5 while Lane Thomas went 2-for-4 with a grand slam and five RBI.

According to Sarah Langs of MLB.com, both players have made unique history.

First about Kwan:

Most hits in the best-of-5 postseason series:

2001 ALDS Ichiro Suzuki: 12th
1995 ALDS Edgar Martinez: 12
2024 ALDS Steven Kwan: ​​11
1995 ALDS Jay Buhner: 11
1995 NLDS Marquis Grissom: 11
1982 ALCS Fred Lynn: 11
1976 ALCS Chris Chambliss: 11

Kwan, one of the best pure hitters in baseball, batted .524 in the ALDS. This followed a regular season in which he hit .292 with 14 home runs, 44 RBI and 12 stolen bases. He also recorded an OPS of .793 despite hitting just 480 at-bats after battling an injury.

Thomas was acquired from the Guardians at the trade deadline in a deal with the Washington Nationals. For the season, he hit .237 with 15 home runs, 63 RBI and 32 stolen bases.

Also from Langs:

Lane Thomas’ 5 RBIs are the most in a postseason game by a Cleveland player since RBI official (1920).

Thomas is 29 years old. The Guardians and Yankees will open the ALCS on Monday at 7:38 p.m. ET. Neither team has announced a starter at the time of this post.

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