The Guardians and Tigers are both 0-0 as the best-of-five ALDS begins, which is just the way Steven Kwan likes it. The Guardians All-Star left fielder posted a .374 batting average in June, but then went into a gradual decline, batting .250 in July, .207 in August and .195 in September. Just how important is Kwan to the Guardians? He batted .348 in 65 games the Guardians won and just .219 in 54 games they lost. Kwan spent two stints on the injured list. He was out most of May with a hamstring injury. He was on the 10-day injured list in September with a strained back. The Guardians last played a game on Sept. 28 when they lost to the Astros, 4-3. That meant six days without a game before meeting the Tigers at 1:08 p.m., Oct. 5 in the ALDS opener at Progressive Field. Manager Stephen Vogt likened the workout on Oct. 1 to the start of spring training as the Guardians try not to get rusty. “Vogt made it really clear, and it was good for him to say it,” Kwan said on Oct. 3 in the Guardians clubhouse. “Whether you had the year you liked or didn’t like, none of that matters. In the postseason, everybody starts 0-0 and you kind of reinvent yourself. That’s a really cool way to look at things.” Injuries limited Kwan to 122 games this season after he played 147 as a rookie in 2022 and 158 last season. Despite that, he hit a career-high 14 home runs in 2024, which is three more than his combined home run total from his first two years. Eleven of Kwan’s home runs were solo shots, three of which were as the game’s leadoff batter. Four others came leading off an inning. “He’s been our catalyst and spark plug at the top of the order,” Vogt said after the Oct. 3 workout. “Kwanny just has to go out and be him. He’s done that for us the majority of the year.” Kwan did not have great success against the Tigers in the regular season. He faced them in 10 games and hit .220 with one home run and two RBI. He hit safely nine times in 41 at bats. “My season was kind of a roller coaster,” Kwan said. “Baseball is a natural failure kind of sport. I think it’s natural to get down on yourself, especially when you know what you’re able to achieve because you demand better. “But we were winning as a team. I think when you’re winning and other people are doing well, that really helps.” Kwan said the hamstring injury and back injury that sidelined him temporarily in 2024 “are preventable.” He said he will work on his conditioning in the offseason to make sure he can play as many games as he did last season. Guardians third base coach Rouglas Odor congratulates Steven Kwan against the Reds on Sept. 25. (Tim Phillis – For The News-Herald) Tigers at Guardians What: ALDS Game 1 When: 1:08 p.m., Oct. 5 Where: Progressive Field TV: TBS Radio: WTAM AM-1100, WMMS-FM 100.7, WARF-AM 1350