CLEVELAND, Ohio — All eyes were on the Guardians’ Chase DeLauter on Wednesday afternoon in Game 2 of the American League wild card series.
A rookie who had never taken a major-league at-bat. Never recorded a putout. Suddenly, he was part of postseason lore.
Only five players in history had ever made their MLB debut in the postseason. DeLauter became the sixth, and the game carried every ounce of that weight.
“Chase is ready,” manager Stephen Vogt said pregame. “You can see it on his face how good of a player he is, and we’re going to roll with it.”
In the Guardians’ 6-1 victory over the Tigers to extend their season, DeLauter delivered a critical play to keep momentum from shifting to Detroit and ultimately help keep Cleveland’s season alive.
But it didn’t begin like a fairy tale. In the first inning, he lost a fly ball in the blinding sun. The ball clanged off his glove, and the crowd groaned. For a moment, the rookie’s debut seemed destined to be remembered as a cruel footnote in a playoff collapse.
Baseball, with its unforgiving pace and unrelenting chances for redemption, wasn’t finished with him.
In the fourth inning, the Tigers threatened to take control. Javier Báez laced a single into center with the bases loaded. One run scored easily. A second seemed inevitable. But DeLauter was ready.
The lefty charged, set his feet, and unleashed a throw that screamed through the autumn air — 92.1 mph, the Guardians’ fourth-fastest tracked outfield assist of the season. The ball met José Ramírez’s glove off a hop just in time to cut down Zach McKinstry, who had dared to stretch for third.
“That was a huge play,” Vogt said postgame. “Obviously, great throw, great read. Chase, that was an unbelievable debut. I thought everything about it was great. His at-bats were outstanding. He could have easily let that play in the first inning rattle him and take him out of the rest of the day. … Chase helped us win this game today.”
“The kid in center made a nice throw,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch added about DeLauter’s play, “probably had to be perfect.”
From there, he steadied. Every fly ball found his glove. Every step in the outfield felt surer than the last. His teammates made sure he knew he belonged.
After the shaky first inning, Guardians starter Tanner Bibee struck out the side, roared to the home faithful, then walked into the dugout and placed a reassuring hand on the rookie’s shoulder. The two shared a laugh, and the burden felt lighter.
“One of those things where I’m going to have your back and eventually, you’re going to get my back as well,” Bibee said of his conversation with DeLauter. “And literally, it came a little earlier than expected.
“But about three innings later, that play obviously kept us in the game and allowed our offense in the eighth inning to do what they do.”
That’s been the Guardians’ heartbeat all season: one player stumbling, another lifting him up.
DeLauter wasn’t spared from the game’s cruelty, but he was also wrapped in its beauty. The bond of a clubhouse, the resilience of youth, the suddenness of a spotlight no one expects to stand in so soon.
Cleveland lives to fight another day partly because a 23-year-old West Virginia kid who walked up to the plate to the tune of “Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver turned his nightmare into a highlight.
DeLauter’s debut may not have been perfect, as he’s still searching for his first hit in the bigs. But it was unforgettable.
And if this October run becomes one the Guardians never forget, Wednesday’s Game 2 victory will be remembered as the moment the rookie stepped out of the shadows and threw himself — literally — into history.
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