Irvin Allows 1 Hit Over 8 Innings, Winker Homers As The Nationals Beat The Mets 1-0
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
Y6IAEPW6EZCILN32FILS5X3XVU Wolf In Ohio 1024x582 7 23 17 11 Rare Wolves Headed To 57929926b586d.image ?resize=1200%2C1704Wolf In Ohio 1 768x432 Wolf 1 ?auto=format&fit=crop&h=1560&w=1600RFJTP2ZBOVFVTIMAHM4PRNDTLE.JPGWolf 6 ?auto=format&fit=crop&h=1170&w=1200Wolf 9 ?auto=format&fit=crop&h=1560&w=1600Screen Shot 2023 02 23 At 8.34.35 AM Woelfe En RIFIcoZLA4 Y6YqTALwrfqVImGHwcfrDoaPG4D31HY0 ?auto=webp&s=766a8961049c17db8845e04ea9dcdb465ac9dc1dQZ6YSPJVFNB55JJRSRDQKMIIPA 57929944874c6.image ?resize=1200%2C96871966459007 Wolves ?width=660&height=507&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp7df8d300 396c 4d84 9f34 51c15250fcaf New Mexico 121418 ?crop=1023,577,x0,y0&width=1023&height=577&format=pjpg&auto=webpPTxLKe Ap19098855936599 Wide 2ba0c475adf06f322c637d2d78d525eb2f23958d ?s=1000&c=15&f=jpegDSC07046.JPGSouthern Ohio Wolf Sanctuary Wolfdog In The Snow 5792993a22d4f.image ?resize=1200%2C936133112027 256703442459192 5182556788539327772 N Milo Weiler 1AIYdIb3O5M Unsplash Scaled E1686858664531 720x400 4f1ec50acc468.preview 300 ?crop=300%2C169%2C0%2C26&resize=356%2C200&order=crop%2Cresize5e6558aaaae8441426b205876b65270a ?fit=1763%2C1175&ssl=1DSC 1221 1 ?resize=622AF1QipNX276iMxW3wboAreMvJJnF5iti G6PkZHeecxt=w1080 H608 P No V0?uuid=94db0257 1858 57fa 97c6 3ed4ba16d243&function=original&type=preview1f67daa4e84d183f9954bdef89576f18 2019 North.america. Maxresdefault Hqdefault