Offense shows signs of life as Guardians complete sweep of White Sox

It took a couple of games, but the bats of the Cleveland Guardians finally decided to wake up in the third and final game of their three-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox. The Guardians scored six runs on 10 hits in Thursday afternoon's contest, sending those who managed to make it down to the ballpark home happy.

Leading Cleveland's offensive attack on Thursday was the duo of Kyle Manzardo and Steven Kwan. Manzo got the Guardians on the board in the bottom of the 1st with a two-run homer, giving Cleveland a 2-1 lead over the White Sox. This was the only hit of the day for Manzardo, but he made sure to make it count.

Kwan would go 4-5 in the contest, including hitting his second home run of the season in 3rd inning, extending Cleveland's lead to three. The 27-year-old outfielder would drive in two more runs, one coming via an RBI single, and the other on an intended safety squeeze turned bunt single.

Performances at the plate, like those of Manzardo and Kwan, are what this team needs if they are going to be successful. The Guardians cannot rely on the likes of Jose Ramirez and Carlos Santana to do the majority of the damage every single game. Not only is that completely unrealistic to expect of them, but having others contribute becomes even more important on days like Thursday, a game that saw Ramirez and Santana combine to go 0-7 on the day.

Perhaps the most important aspect of Cleveland's third straight win over Chicago is that the Guardians outhit and outscored themselves in their previous two games combined. Cleveland scored just four runs on six hits in the first two games with the White Sox, so seeing a 10-hit, six-run effort to close out the series is very encouraging. It could even be a sign that this offense is going to wake up and be a more consistent group at the plate.

The Guardians are certainly hoping their offensive success from Thursday afternoon's contest carries over into their next series, as they are going to need as many runs as they can get against a pesky Kansas City Royals team. Hopefully, what transpired in the series finale with Chicago is the beginning of a long and extended streak of production at the plate and not just a one-off blip of offense.