Steven Kwan and Josh Naylor hit solo home runs as Cleveland scored five consecutive runs in the third and fourth innings, helping the AL Central-leading Guardians defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-5 on Sunday.
Cleveland extended its winning streak to five games and reached a season-high 23 games over .500. The Guardians, under rookie manager Stephen Vogt, boast the best home record in the majors at 26-9, matching their franchise-best through 35 games.
“(Kwan) sets the tone for us, and when he performs well, it lifts the entire team,” Naylor said. “He’s not just a great teammate but also a great person.”
Tim Herrin (3-0) earned the win with a scoreless fourth inning. Emmanuel Clase secured his AL-leading 24th save, retiring George Springer to end the game after allowing the potential tying run to reach base.
“Our players came through in big moments once again,” Vogt said. “Kwan is capitalizing on mistakes, and Josh has been really impressive with his performance.”
Rookie Spencer Horwitz hit two solo homers, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. added a two-run homer for Toronto, which has now lost six consecutive games for the first time since May 19-24, 2021. The Blue Jays were swept in consecutive series for the first time since 2019.
“We’ve had our opportunities, but our starting pitching has had some unusual performances recently,” Toronto manager John Schneider said. “This season, we haven’t hit as many home runs as we could, and we’ve given up more than we should.”
Kwan went 2 for 5 in the game and is batting .390, though he is 11 plate appearances short of qualifying for the league leaderboard. Since May 31, he boasts a .463 batting average.
