Jake Cave Breaks Tie With 6th-inning Homer, Rockies Top Brewers 4-3
CLEVELAND -- — All-Star Steven Kwan homered, went 3 for 4 with two RBI and officially took over as the majors' leading hitter while sending the Cleveland Guardians to an 8-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday.
Kwan connected for his eighth homer leading off the third inning against Justin Anderson as the AL Central-leading Guardians took two of three in the series and improved baseball's best home record to 28-10.
Although his average has been over .350 for most of the season — he recently flirted with .400 — Kwan didn't have enough at-bats to qualify for the MLB lead after missing a month with a hamstring injury.
He's now batting .367 — 48 points ahead of Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, who is second and played Thursday night. Kwan also has 12 three-hit games, the most in the AL.
“It's really cool,” Kwan said when asked about being the game's leading hitter. "It’s a bigger indicator that the injury’s kind of behind now. That was a big thing. That was kind of not my identity, but that was definitely a big thing on my mind.
“It’s nice to see there’s some space between me and the injury.”
On Wednesday, the 26-year-old Kwan was named an All-Star starter for the first time. In the series finale, he also drove in a run with a bases-loaded walk.
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt has run out of superlatives to describe his left fielder
“Kwannie just continues to dazzle,” Vogt said.
Josh Naylor, Bo Naylor and Andrés Giménez drove in two runs apiece for Cleveland.
Ben Lively (8-4) limited the White Sox to three runs and six hits in six innings. The right-hander, whose signing as a free agent in December barely made a ripple, is 5-0 in six starts at Progressive Field.
He's the first Cleveland starter to win five consecutive home starts since Corey Kluber in 2016.
Lively, who spent three years pitching in Korea, has allowed three runs or less in 13 of his 14 starts. He entered the season with just eight wins.
When he signed, the Guardians told him to expect to pitch in long relief. He has taken the starter's role and run with it.
“I could have been here for two weeks,” he said. “It’s just the way it goes. I just don’t want to look back.”
Paul DeJong hit a two-run homer and Lenyn Sosa a solo shot for the White Sox, who lost their ninth consecutive road series and fell to 25-64 —- 31 games behind Cleveland.
Kwan opened the third with a towering shot into the right-field seats. He hit just 11 homers combined in his first two seasons, but has focused on pulling inside pitches.
The Guardians tacked on three more runs in the third against Anderson as manager Pedro Grifol went with a bullpen game in the series finale.
Kwan, who has been in a bit of a slump lately (he came in 5 for 28 in his last seven games), singled in his first at-bat. The Guardians threatened to have a big first inning against Sox starter Jared Shuster (1-1) but only scored once on Josh Naylor's RBI single.
TRAINER'S ROOM
White Sox: RHP Mike Clevinger will make a rehab start on Friday for Triple-A Charlotte. Clevinger was initially sidelined by right elbow issue before his neck flared up. Barring a setback, he's expected to rejoin the rotation next week.
Guardians: Reliever Nick Sandlin (back inflammation) was activated from the injured list, giving manager Stephen Vogt back one of his key bullpen pieces. He gave up a homer in the ninth. To make roster space, right-hander Eli Morgan was optioned to Triple-A Columbus. ... OF Will Brennan (rib cage inflammation) remains sidelined with an injury that wasn't expected to keep him out long.
UP NEXT
White Sox: Head to Miami for a three-game series with RHP Drew Thorpe (2-1, 4.43 ERA) starting the opener.
Guardians: RHP Tanner Bibee (7-2, 3.47) starts the opener of a three-game series against the San Francisco Giants, who have won 13 of 15 against Cleveland since the start of the 2021 season.
------
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
57b414e04e580b3c4872e8e141ada2c1 48e4520d F627 4466 A33b 4d7508a48089 D4fbc9ccc9f8c363a14ab41fae903a4e ?ca=7&ce=1&s=1024x768DSC06365 1280x854 1024x683 1d4bb4c44c95feeeaae94d7009289782 1cbf55ab 105e 4619 828e C7254a81ba2a Fb4b0d81b9d556ac495be95a49f98303 Home Interior Design Trends In Pune 768x461 6877a9ebd0e672dd7d2ed87414edf97a 78ea40956406fd9c091889364a2fbb7a MAK 21 1280x853 800x533 1a2455d89aad2587c99065c2bfef05b1 40940328 1c7d 45c1 8121 2a5092433a7c New Project 7 ?fit=1024%2C960&ssl=152fdfc664a7cb5b737aed47512d91248 ?media Id=58304814319237113a71b7b062122531a5cef76bd960668 E9455d45 9b42 43c6 Bbc9 8c3910be56cf C0f36d99fd3a8c74b7b5369b6b54a254 F37c4479ff37474ccee229c252ed012e 1*fs ToV4TYyaTF87VEk3FSg D9362d974da61f96a5f0f92d305c18c2 Dd5621d1116c129566fc40191723acd0 E6f63171f62e2f542202ff20ab3935f2 Picture5 B5281d8f3e9fe98539f73a1d4216016b F4d88ed4e3a402597b549cc0a6c5c138 D89d4322ec5a230fd3f28cee09d99c38 306163 14032410200018824790 ?ca=2&ce=1&s=1024x768Aa13c18393dec3715d68e61a95f73b0d 41e28e6208124f1ac771d6c67764a3ed Efa3936e5cfab307566e50d631256ce5