CLEVELAND (AP) — Steven Kwan isn't just at the top of Cleveland's lineup. He's No. 1 in the majors.
The All-Star left fielder is officially baseball's leading hitter, and on Thursday he homered, collected another three-hit game and drove in two runs in the Guardians' 8-4 win over the Chicago White Sox.
While he's been hitting over .350 for much of the season, Kwan didn't have enough plate appearances to rank on the MLB leader board after missing a month with a hamstring injury.
He qualifies now and his .367 average is 48 points ahead of Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani (.319) for the major league lead.
After collecting his 12th three-hit game, Kwan, who was named to his first All-Star team on Wednesday, handled moving into the MLB lead with same calm and control he shows at the plate.
“It's really cool,” he said. "It’s a bigger indicator that the injury’s kind of behind me now. That was a big thing. That was kind of not my identity, but that was definitely a big thing on my mind, kind of seeing the injury happen, going through the rehab process and then being able to come back from that.
“It’s nice to see there’s some space between me and the injury.”
The 27-year-old Kwan hit .268 a year ago — a 30-point drop from his rookie season — and spent the offseason fine-tuning his mechanics while looking to add more power.
He has not only become a more disciplined hitter, but he's already surpassed his career high in homers and he's spraying the ball to all fields.
Kwan has spent the past three months tormenting pitchers and managers.
“He's a pain in the (butt),” Toronto manager John Schneider said. “I feel like he hits every inning against us, too. He’s pretty damn good.”
From the leadoff spot, Kwan has set the tone for the Guardians all season, and he's one of the big reasons they've had control of the AL Central since early April.
If he's not starting the game by slapping a single to left field, Kwan is making life miserable on the opposing starter by working the count. On Tuesday, he led off the first by fouling off eight pitches in a 12-pitch at-bat against Chicago's Chris Flexen, who retired Kwan on a fly to center field.
Kwan's teammates marvel at his hand-eye coordination and artistry with the bat.
“It's super special,” catcher Bo Naylor said. “I get to see from a closer space than most. Just the kind of preparation that he puts in day in and day out. He's just so disciplined with his work, so it doesn’t shock me at all the kind of results that he’s getting in game just because of how much he prioritizes himself, his mindset and the preparation that’s needed in order to go out there and compete.”
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Cleveland Guardians' Steven Kwan, right, watches his solo home run off Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Jose Barrios with Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk, left, during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Cleveland, Saturday, June 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Phil Long)
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) — Powerful winds and rain approached Texas Sunday morning as Beryl was expected to turn back from a tropical storm into a hurricane overnight and pound a long stretch of coast with heavy downpours, howling gusts and dangerous storm surge.
A long stretch of Texas' shoreline was under a hurricane waring as Beryl's outer bands were forecast to begin lashing the coast Sunday. Landfall was expected early Monday and officials in several coastal counties issued voluntary evacuation orders while urging tourists along the beach for the Fourth of the July holiday to leave.
The earliest storm to develop into a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic, Beryl caused at least 11 deaths as it passed through the Caribbean earlier in the week. The storm has tipped doors, windows and roofs off homes with devastating winds and storm surge fueled by the Atlantic’s record warmth.
“We're seeing the outer bands of Beryl approach the Texas coast now and the weather should be going downhill especially this afternoon and evening," Eric Blake, a senior hurricane specialist with the National Hurricane Center, said Sunday morning. “People should definitely be in their safe space by nightfall and we're expecting the hurricane to make landfall somewhere in the middle Texas coast overnight.”
Texas officials warned people along the entire coastline to prepare for possible flooding, heavy rain and wind. The hurricane warning extended fom Baffin Bay, south of Corpus Christi, to Sargent, south of Houston.
In Corpus Christi, officials asked visitors to cut their trips short and return home early if possible. Residents were advised to secure homes by boarding up windows if necessary and using sandbags to guard against possible flooding.
Traffic has been nonstop for the past three days at an Ace Hardware in the city as customers buy tarps, rope, duct tape, sandbags and generators, employee Elizabeth Landry said Saturday.
“They’re just worried about the wind, the rain,” she said. “They’re wanting to prepare just in case.”
Ben Koutsoumbaris, general manager of Island Market on Corpus Christi’s Padre Island, said there has been “definitely a lot of buzz about the incoming storm,” with customers stocking up on food and drinks, particularly meat and beer.
The White House said Sunday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency had sent emergency responders, search-and-rescue teams, bottled water, and other resources along the coast.
Some coastal cities called for voluntary evacuations in low-lying areas that are prone to flooding, banned beach camping and urged tourists traveling on the Fourth of July holiday weekend to move recreational vehicles from coastal parks. In Refugio County, north of Corpus Christi, officials issued a mandatory evacuation order for its 6,700 residents.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is acting governor while Gov. Greg Abbott is traveling in Taiwan, issued a preemptive disaster declaration for 121 counties.
“Beryl is a determined storm, and incoming winds and potential flooding will pose a serious threat to Texans who are in Beryl’s path at landfall and as it makes its way across the state for the following 24 hours,” Patrick said Saturday in a statement.
Beryl earlier this week battered Mexico as a Category 2 hurricane, toppling trees but causing no injuries or deaths before weakening to a tropical storm as it moved across the Yucatan Peninsula.
Before hitting Mexico, Beryl wrought destruction in Jamaica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Barbados. Three people were reported dead in Grenada, three in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, three in Venezuela and two in Jamaica.
Lozano reported from Houston. Associated Press writer Mark Thiessen in Anchorage, Alaska, and radio reporter Julie Walker in New York contributed.
Visitors crowd the beaches in Port Aransas, Texas, ahead of Hurricane Beryl's arrival, Saturday, July 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
An oil tanker heads out and visitors crowd the beaches in Port Aransas, Texas, ahead of Hurricane Beryl's arrival, Saturday, July 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Visitors crowd the beaches, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in Port Aransas, Texas, ahead of Hurricane Beryl's arrival. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
An oil tanker heads out to open water as surfers take advantage of waves ahead of Hurricane Beryl's arrival in Port Aransas, Texas, Saturday, July 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
A surfer passes under a pier after spending time in the water ahead of Beryl's arrival, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in Port Aransas, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
An oil tanker heads out to open water as a surfer takes advantage of waves ahead of Hurricane Beryl's arrival in Port Aransas, Texas, Saturday, July 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
A group plays on the beach ahead of Beryl's arrival, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in Port Aransas, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Shoppers exit a souvenir shop as Beryl advances towards the Texas coast, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in Port Aransas, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Visitors pass a restaurant closed in advance of Beryl, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in Port Aransas, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
