Steven Kwan had three hits, including a solo homer that ignited a four-run third inning, while brothers Josh and Bo Naylor each posted two hits with two RBIs, as the Cleveland Guardians beat the visiting Chicago White Sox 8-4 on Thursday.
Ben Lively (8-4) allowed a single run in the second, a two-run homer to Paul DeJong in the sixth and struck out six in six innings as the AL Central-leading Guardians improved to 6-0 in his home starts. The Guardians took two of three in the series from Chicago.
Kwan, an All-Star starter who leads baseball with a .367 batting average, hit his eighth homer to break an early 1-1 tie as the Guardians improved to 5-5 against the lowly White Sox this season.
Facing Chicago opener Jared Shuster (1-1), Cleveland opened the game with singles from Kwan and Angel Martinez (two hits). However, the Guardians managed only one run via Josh Naylor’s RBI single to right.
The White Sox tied it in the top of the second. Eloy Jimenez opened with a single, went to second on Lively’s wild pitch and scored when Lenyn Sosa bounced a two-out single past diving Cleveland shortstop Brayan Rocchio.
Sosa, who added a home run in the ninth, has five straight games with at least two hits.
Cleveland broke open the game in the third. Kwan led off with his homer versus Shuster just over the right-field wall. Martinez followed with a double against Justin Anderson and scored from third when he beat first baseman Gavin Sheets’ throw home on Josh Naylor’s chopper.
With the bases loaded in the third and two out, Bo Naylor dropped a single into center for a 5-1 lead.
The Guardians added two more in the fifth when Josh Naylor doubled and eventually scored on Andres Gimenez’s grounder. Kwan drew a bases-loaded walk against Chad Kuhl later in the inning.
Chicago didn’t threaten Lively again until the sixth. Sheets singled and scored when DeJong cleared the right-field wall for his team-leading 16th homer.
The White Sox, 9-35 on the road, failed to turn an inning-ending double play in the bottom of the sixth that allowed a hustling Jose Ramirez to score from second.
–Field Level Media
