TAMPA — Following a two-hit, two RBI performance on his birthday in Friday’s 7-1 win against the Rays, Steven Kwan shed some light on what has helped him turn things around at the plate on the heels of a very un-Kwan-like August for the All-Star left fielder.

Kwan hit .214 with three doubles a home run, five RBI and a .516 OPS in 27 August games for the Guardians, by far his worst month of the season. But once the calendar flipped to September, Kwan heated up again. He entered Saturday’s contest batting .348 with an .810 OPS, three RBI and two extra-base hits in five games.

After battling through a sore right wrist that has hampered him since late May and required an anti-inflammatory injection in mid-July, Kwan said that a simple equipment adjustment seems to have made a big difference. He had been wrapping his wrist in athletic tape as a precautionary measure, and decided to remove it in order to see if it helped.

“One game I just got super frustrated,” Kwan said. “I felt like I didn’t get to a ball in time, so I just ripped it off and I talked to the training staff and they were good about me keeping it off. Maybe it’s a coincidence …but my swing started feeling really good, my path was really good. Hitting balls with the angles that I like. So it’s probably a multitude of things, but that definitely helped.”

Kwan said he removed the tape during Cleveland’s first game against Tampa Bay on Aug. 25 at Progressive Field. Since then, he is batting .283 with three doubles, five RBI and 13 hits in 11 games while posting a .668 OPS.

Taking some extra swings pregame with hitting coach Grant Fink has also helped, Kwan said. The two focused on Kwan’s lower half and establishing a good base.

“It’s the lower half that drives everything,” Kwan said. “I just wanted to make sure that was in a good spot.”

Birthday bonus

Friday’s birthday bonanza included Kwan’s first two-steal game since last August.

Afterward, the 28-year-old California native was asked about the significance of his jersey number, 38, which he has worn since his rookie season.

Kwan, who is of Chinese and Japanese heritage, said his grandmother chose the number for him. In Chinese culture, 8 is a lucky number, and 3 symbolizes longevity.

But in college at Oregon State, Kwan wore No. 4.

“I told my grandma about that and she said that was a terrible number because that’s the number of death,” Kwan said. “I didn’t know that, so she chose this one.”

One more day

Left-hander John Means, who missed Friday’s scheduled rehab start due to illness, is set to pitch Sunday for Triple-A Columbus at Huntington Park. Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said Cleveland’s training staff felt it was best to push the left-hander one more day to make sure he feels better after reporting he was under the weather on

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