CLEVELAND - Gavin Williams gave the Guardians a scare before he ever threw a pitch that counted.
The bullpen session he put together before his start against the Toronto Blue Jays was, in his own words, “brutal,” the kind of tune-up that can leave a pitcher wondering what’s coming next. But once the game began, Williams flipped the script completely. He carved through Toronto over seven innings, struck out a career-high 13 and allowed only three baserunners in a key win.
By the end, he was finishing the way he started nothing like the pregame work suggested he might. Williams struck out the side in his final inning, then walked off to a standing ovation after his 13th punchout.
“That’s the way of the game sometimes,” Williams said with a shrug. “You don’t always have your best stuff in the pregame ‘pens, but when there’s somebody in the box, things change. But yeah, if you would have seen it before the game, you would have had somebody [warming] up in the first inning.”
Catcher Patrick Bailey saw the same contrast from behind the plate. The bullpen session didn’t inspire much confidence, but the game version of Williams looked far different.
“I was a little worried going into it, but he calmed those nerves right in the first inning, and it’s pretty cool to see him continue to get better and better,” Bailey said. “If Gavin has his stuff, it does’t really matter what the other lineup’s doing.”
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said he expected some edge from Williams after his previous start, Aug. 25 in Anaheim, when he was knocked out in the second inning in his shortest outing of the year. Instead, Williams delivered the kind of response that can steady a rotation.
“We kind of knew he was going to come out with a little chip [on his shoulder] after his last one, but I don’t think we could have asked for that,” Vogt said. “To make that big of a transition from his last time out, just credit to him, credit to our pitching team to get him back on track. That was super impressive.”
The strikeouts have piled up for Williams over his last 10 starts. Even with that four-out outing in Anaheim, he has punched out 94 hitters in that stretch while posting a 3.65 ERA. On the season, he now has 10 double-digit strikeout games, tied with Milwaukee Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski for the most in the majors.
That production has helped give Cleveland a front-line tandem at the top of its rotation. Parker Messick has put together an All-Star season and has a chance to finish as a Cy Young finalist with a strong September, while Williams has established himself as a strong partner in that lefty-righty pairing.
Bailey didn’t hesitate when asked about Williams’ ceiling.
“Being the best starter in the league, no doubt about it.”
After the rough day in Anaheim and the shaky bullpen work in Cleveland, Williams answered with the kind of outing that reminded everyone just how overpowering he can be.
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