CLEVELAND, OH - While Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan has been at the forefront of everyone's minds the last few weeks, Guardians outfielder Will Brennan has quietly put together an impressive month of June, including his two home run performance in the Guardians’ (46-26) 6-3 win over the Seattle Mariners (44-33) on Thursday afternoon.
Brennan, 26, has been batting .333 in June with three home runs, five RBI, and .953 OPS. Brennan's first solo home run in the second inning tied the game up and reenergized the 24,470 fans in attendance.
This stretch from Brennan has been a long road of hard work for the second year outfielder.
“I love to just put the work in, show up and get ready to do stuff in the cage,” Brennan said after the win. “I know that no matter what happens the night before, it's always a new day the next day. The past few weeks [we had] kind of a change of plan [at the plate], and it’s starting to pay off a little bit.”
The stretch has caught Guardians manager Stephen Vogt's attention, as he mentioned about Brennan seeing his hard work paying off.
“That's huge,” Vogt said of Brennan’s recent stretch in his postgame press conference. “When you're hitting the ball hard do you want to see it fall and I don't care how much you say, ‘Hey, good swing’ or ‘Stay right there,’ you want hits, you want results and, for Will, his swings the last couple of weeks have been phenomenal and he's getting the results. Three-hit game and two homers, it's pretty good.”
The recent success from Brennan gives the Guardians some much needed help in the latter half of the lineup. So far this season, Brennan (8), Kwan (5) and Tyler Freeman (6) have combined to hit more home runs this season (19) than all Guardians outfielders in 2023 (16).
And in the other corner…
Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan extended his on-base streak to 25 games and his hit streak to 14 games with a first inning double. Kwan has hit .435 with a 1.167 OPS during his on-base streak.
Kwan unfortunately snapped another streak when he struck out in the 3rd inning. The strikeout snapped a 44 plate appearances without striking out streak for the third year outfielder.
He has certainly made a case as the best leadoff hitter in all of baseball, and manager Stephen Vogt agrees and gave his reasons why after the win.
“His ability to make contact, his ability to hit the ball hard when he needs to, and take what the pitcher gives him when he needs to,” Vogt said of what makes Kwan so good at leading off. “It was funny, he struck out today and I [looked around the dugout like] ‘What happened?’ That's just who [Kwan] is. You know, he makes you beat him. He doesn't beat himself very often, and that's really what [Kwan] does.”
Getting in a Groove
Guardians starting pitcher Logan Allen (8-3, 5.23) had a rocky start, allowing a two-run home run in the first inning, but was able to settle in, only allowing two more hits over six innings. He also had a season-high four walks in the Thursday matinee.
“I guess not really unfamiliar territory [for me],” Allen said of his mindset and settling in after allowing hits to the first three batters. “Just know [that] we got a good defense out there to make plays. We're going to hit. We're going to swing. We're going to score runs. We're never out of the game, so just trying to get back, resettle in and put up a zero.”
It was Allen's second quality start in his last three outings. In that same span, Allen has a 3.18 ERA over 17 innings, as well as two wins.
What's next?
The Cleveland Guardians will begin a three-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night at Progressive Field. Veteran starter Carlos Carrasco (2-6, 5.80) will get the start for the Guardians. First pitch will be at 7:10 PM.
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