CLEVELAND — Gavin Williams was not supposed to be doing this.
Two days before taking the mound in a winner-take-all Game 5, Williams had been summoned from the bullpen to record the final three outs of Cleveland’s 9-5 victory in Chicago. It was his first professional relief appearance at any level, and he threw 18 pitches to keep the Guardians’ season alive.
Then he came home and started Game 5.
Williams responded with 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing only one hit while striking out 12 as Cleveland beat the White Sox, 2-0, to complete its comeback from an 0-2 series deficit and advance to the ALCS. He tied Charles Nagy’s franchise postseason record with those 12 strikeouts and carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning before Kyle Teel finally singled with two outs.
Considering what Williams had done 48 hours earlier, the performance becomes even more impressive. Cleveland never planned for Williams to pitch out of the bullpen in Game 4, but Cade Smith had already been extended across consecutive elimination games, forcing Vogt to turn to his Game 5 starter. Williams recorded the final three outs on 18 pitches, then made it clear afterward that he still wanted the ball Saturday.
Vogt gave it to him, and Williams made sure there was never any reason to regret the decision.
He struck out six batters through the first three innings and then struck out the side in the fourth. Chicago struggled to square him up all night, and for five innings the White Sox did not record a hit.
The sixth finally provided Cleveland’s first real scare. Colson Montgomery was hit by a pitch, Teel broke up the no-hitter, and Miguel Vargas walked to load the bases with two outs. Williams had reached the end of his night, but by then he had done everything Cleveland could reasonably have asked.
Erik Sabrowski finished the inning by striking out Munetaka Murakami, preserving the 2-0 lead and protecting the performance Williams had just delivered.
The final line tells part of the story, but the circumstances tell the rest.
Williams appeared three times in the ALDS and struck out 24 batters, finishing one shy of the Division Series record. He struck out 11 in Game 2, recorded the final three outs of Game 4, then came back two days later and struck out 12 more in Game 5.
That is not a normal postseason workload, and this was not a normal postseason performance.
The Guardians needed someone to take control of the biggest game of their season. Williams did exactly that, pitching like an ace with Cleveland’s season hanging in the balance.
José Ramírez supplied the only offense Cleveland needed with his two-run homer in the fourth, and Sabrowski, Hunter Gaddis, and Cade Smith finished the shutout. But Game 5 belonged to Williams.
Two days after helping keep the Guardians alive, Gavin Williams helped send them to the ALCS.
