3 studs, duds from 2022 Cleveland Guardians opening series vs Royals

The Cleveland Guardians surprised just about everyone, busting out the bats for a big offensive performance in their 17-3 victory series finale against the Royals, salvaging the three-game set.

It’s a 1-2 start for Terry Francona and the Guards, who head to Cincinnati for a two-game stint before arriving in Cleveland for the home opener against the Giants on Friday.

With the first series in the books, here two studs and one dud for Cleveland’s 2022 opening series against the Royals.

1. Cleveland Guardians stud: Steven Kwan

As for as MLB debuts go, they don’t get much better than Kwan’s.

When nobody was hitting in the first two games, Kwan was, going 3-5 with a doubt. And then, his historic Sunday came, in which Kwan had statisticians pulling out facts that go back to 1901.

Kwan went 5-5 in the finale, making him the first player since 1901 to reach base 12 times in his first three career contests. He also became the sixth player in MLB history since at least 1901 to record a five-hit game within his first three career contests, according to MLB.com’s Mandy Bell.

In doing so, he, joins the company of Yermín Mercedes (2021), Cecil Travis (1933), Red Massey (1918), Jack Dalton (1910) and Judge McCredie (1903).

The Guardians have been looking for an outfielder ever since Michael Brantley moved to Houston and Kwan forced his way into lineup with hot bat at spring training.

All Guardians can hope for is that Kwan swinging a hot stick