The Cleveland Guardians are putting the season on Gavin Williams’ right arm in Game 5 of the American League Division Series.
Saturday night’s winner at Progressive Field moves on to face the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALCS. The loser is done for 2026. That’s the kind of setting that strips everything down to the essentials, and Cleveland is choosing Williams to handle it after he was already part of the Game 4 finish in Chicago.
Williams wasn’t just a bystander in that elimination-game win. He came out of the bullpen to record the last out, and now, just two days later, he’s back in the spotlight as the starter in the deciding game. Sarah Langs noted on Bluesky that Williams will become only the sixth pitcher since 1945 to get the final out of one game and then start the next game in the same postseason series.
The small group he’s joining says plenty about how unusual this is:
Pitcher Series Pitches in relief Rest before start Start results
Jesse Chavez, Braves
2021 NLCS, Games 3-4
16
0 days
1 IP, 0 R, 0 H
Brad Peacock, Astros
2019 ALCS, Games 5-6
21
0 days
1 ⅔ IP, 1 R, 2 H
Miguel Batista, Diamondbacks
2001 NLDS, Games 1-2
12
1 day
6 IP, 2 R, 3 H
Bob Turley, Yankees
1957 WS, Games 5-6
11
1 day
9 IP, 2 R, 4 H
Hank Borowy, Cubs
1945 WS, Games 6-7
N/A
1 day
0 IP, 3 R, 3 H
Two of those starts came in a completely different era for pitching usage, and two more were opener-type outings. That leaves Miguel Batista’s 2001 NLDS start as the most useful comparison.
Batista worked six innings against the Cardinals, struck out four, didn’t walk anyone, and had one day of rest after throwing 12 pitches in relief. Williams had 18 pitches in his relief appearance.
That’s the path Cleveland seems to be betting on: enough length to matter, with the bullpen ready if the game turns quickly. An early pull is always on the table in an elimination game, but Williams should at least get a chance to work through the order once and maybe twice. His Game 4 inning shouldn’t stand in the way, especially with a bullpen session already scheduled for Thursday.
There’s also the simple fact that Williams has already handled this opponent well. In Game 2 against the White Sox, he worked five innings, struck out 11, and allowed two runs on four hits. So even before he throws his first pitch in Game 5, he’s already in rare territory.
In Other News...
White Sox Turn To Sean Burke With Season On The Line
Sean Burke will take the ball for the White Sox in Game 5 of the ALDS against the Guardians, a nod to the right-hander who emerged as Chicagos most steady starter over the course of the regular season. Manager Will Venable confirmed the move, and it gives the White Sox a more conventional look after the first four games of the series were handled with bullpen days.
It is also a defining turn in a series that has gone all the way to the wire, with the winner moving on to face Tampa Bay in the ALCS. Chicago has leaned hard on matchup-based pitching to this point, but now the season comes down to Burke in a true starters assignment, with the White Sox needing him to carry the kind of workload that has been in short supply so far in this matchup. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Could Revisit A Familiar October Pitching Market
The offseason pitching market already looks like a priority for St. Louis, and the Cardinals are expected to shop across the board for help both in the rotation and the bullpen. After leaning on a mix of playoff-tested arms, the front office is being nudged toward names with some familiarity attached, the sort of targets that can make sense if the market gets expensive and the need stays broad.
Among the possibilities being floated are a handful of pitchers with recent momentum and different ways to fit a staff. Brady Singer, Dylan Cease, Dustin May and Devin Williams all come up as plausible fits on paper, which speaks to the range of what the Cardinals may need. However they sort through that list, the next move figures to say plenty about how aggressively they plan to reshape October plans for next season. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Season Is On The Brink After One Crucial Choice
The White Sox head into a must-win spot in the ALDS down two games to the Guardians, with no margin left after dropping the first pair and now needing a response just to keep their postseason alive. A win would send Chicago on to the ALCS against the Rays, so every lineup card and pitching decision carries the kind of weight October usually reserves for the late innings.
Will Venable has leaned into some notable tweaks as he tries to spark a turnaround, with Tristan Peters getting the start in right field and Sean Newcomb part of the pitching mix the club is sorting through. Cleveland, meanwhile, has made its own adjustment by turning to Petey Halpin in center after sitting Angel Martnez, and the two clubs have laid out their starting lineups with the series hanging on every small edge. [Read more 🡒]