The Cleveland Guardians only had four hits against the Kansas City Royals, with two of them coming from Steven Kwan.
CLEVELAND - It was a cool night at Progressive Field, not just because the first pitch temperature was 47 degrees, but because the Cleveland Guardians’ bats once again, for the most part, froze at the plate in their series-opening loss to the Kansas City Royals.
The Guardians only managed to get two runs across on four hits, with both of them being solo home runs. On the other hand, the Royals managed to fill up the box score with 11 hits and four runs.
One of those runs came off Tanner Bibee, another one from Peyton Pallette, and the other two occurred with Kolby Allard on the mound.
If there were any bright spots for the Guardians' largely quiet offense, it was that Steven Kwan finally looked like the elite version of himself and hopefully got back on track with his multi-hit game.
Kwan came into Monday night’s game with a .216/.310/.270 slash line. It’s early, yes, but for a player who is known for being a quick starter, his numbers through the first three series started to raise some eyebrows, and not in a good way.
The thing is, with Kwan’s plate discipline and bat-to-ball skills, it can only take one game to get him back on track, and that’s exactly what played out in Cleveland’s series opener against the Kansas City Royals.
Apr 6, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians center fielder Steven Kwan (38) is congratulated by right fielder Chase DeLauter (24) after hitting a solo home run off Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Michael Wacha (52) during the third inning at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Dermer-Imagn ImagesIn his first at-bat of the game, Kwan took a Michael Wacha fastball the other way to lead off the game with a single.
His next at-bat came in the third inning, and Kwan, who rarely swings at the first pitch, was clearly sitting fastball, saw a pitch he liked, and gave the Guardians an early 1-0 lead with a solo home run, his first of the season.
“I thought that’s the most Kwan, we’ve seen Kwan tonight,” said Stephen Vogt after the game. “Four really quality at-bats, and some good swings.”
Outside of Chase DeLauter and Gabriel Arias, who left Monday’s game with a hamstring injury, Cleveland’s offense has been pretty flat since the start of the season. They need someone else to get it going, and that literally and figuratively starts with Kwan at the top.
Hopefully, Kwan’s performance against the Royals can get him going, even though the Guardians didn’t come away with a victory.
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