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. I

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