Murray's Farewell At Wimbledon Starts With Loss
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
A5835ba1beb98b7fa034a8d6fa937df6 E1553799338575 Ad2a0021d0e0f0c18f1fc02e07aa9fe3 19 Ways To Organize Shoes Shoe Organizer Best Way To Organize Shoes 3 1673386882135 Shoe Organization Cover 300x300 F199687387f0880e79ca46f5eaa26112 435b7549bfaf55cf44148419d235f2be E2f8591d887d11c4579ff23b4acd9bdb Idea For Organizing Shoes ?auto=webp&quality=45&width=3840&crop=16 9Shoe Storage Ideas Featured Homebnc 300x153 Shoe Closet Gallery 14 Scaled Boot Storage F9adde526ad0e14af5f4c831b5806117 719 ACy3fdL. AC SX522 184x300 B21397076db2a4c26c97def24850372e A8683beb0b97e704c9b76315a27d017e 71y6G5E0RrL. AC SX522 300x197 1484c22706fd0bae67858688599f7313 Bedroom Ideas For Women Store Shoes 3ca83263972bbc5a2396550da929d7fe Ikea Shoe Storage Shoes Organizer Eda39aecf27a08bcd8d4698b4669e0c3 78e1f95a6ba9e55b2a8595df7cde3b66 51bdc64067faf0a45f8f010c79f5a3af 141063d351cb2ad3a88c21d7bfd1101c DIY Storage Lockers Kids 2 450x693 1 195x300 Shoe Storage Ideas Pinterest Share Homebnc 1 731x1536 Small Closet Organization Ideas With Curtain Rods 3 1 480x1024 1 141x300 15b Entryway Shoe Storage Ideas Homebnc V2 71pVnJNFjcL. AC SX522 3f6298290c3e69ef75fcc35c6285d9be 6f96accf8504d16e9e6fbb19cbae7c6c Shoe Rack Organization ?v=1599494422