CLEVELAND (AP) — Guardians pitcher Gavin Williams knew going into Game 3 of the AL Championship Series that strikeouts might be hard to come by against a Tampa Bay lineup that was the most disciplined in the major leagues during the regular season.
It didn't matter.
The right-hander had another dominant outing and helped Cleveland move within two wins of its first World Series appearance in 10 years.
Williams struck out nine, allowing two runs and two hits over five innings as the Guardians defeated the Rays 3-2 Thursday. The 27-year old became the first pitcher in Cleveland postseason history to have three straight starts with at least nine strikeouts.
“The punch-outs are cool, but I think there’s a bigger goal than just the punch-outs. I think it’s more of trying to help the team win and give the best possible shot throughout the game to get the win,” Williams said.
He is 2-0 with a 2.16 ERA and 33 strikeouts over 16 2/3 innings in four postseason games this year.
Williams was on his usual four days of rest after pitching 5 2/3 innings against the Chicago White Sox in Game 5 of the AL Division Series. He tied a franchise postseason mark with 12 strikeouts and allowed only one hit to propel the Guardians into the ALCS after he also pitched one inning of relief in Game 4.
Williams retired the Rays in order the first time through the lineup and struck out five.
The only trouble Williams faced came in the fourth. Yandy Díaz doubled to left-center leading off. Williams retired the next two hitters but Victor Mesa Jr. walked and Chandler Simpson lined a two-run triple down the right-field line to put the Rays up 2-1.
“It can get tricky. They can flip the script on you real quick, and you never know what they’re really going to be doing or sitting on,” Williams said.
Williams retired the Rays in order in the fifth, but Vogt noticed Williams' velocity dropped 3-4 mph on all his pitches. Even though Williams was only at 70 pitches, including 52 strikes, Vogt decided to take out Williams after the inning.
Williams ended up getting the win. Petey Halpin's two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth put the Guardians up 3-2.
Vogt said the move was out of an abundance of caution.
“I think when we go into the game, we have a limit that everybody has. He was a little lighter today just with what he did over the weekend,” Vogt said. “But for Gavin, the first four innings, he looked sharp, sharp, and he still looked sharp in the fifth. I just didn’t like the velo drop. He’s feeling fine. We just gotta get him out of there at the right time.”
Williams said he felt the same as he did last Saturday but also noticed the decreased speed on his pitches.
“I feel good, but I’ve done something that I never did last week. So I thank them, too,” he said. “They noticed it a little bit. So see what I’ve got in two days or five days, whatever they need from me.”
Williams' next start could be a deciding Game 7 on Tuesday night at Tropicana Field. But rain is forecast for Friday in Cleveland and the schedule could be changed, leaving pitching plans uncertain.
With 33 strikeouts, Williams needs three to surpass Orel Hershiser (1995) and Corey Kluber (2016) for the most by a Cleveland pitcher in one postseason.
Cleveland's pitchers have struck out 102, the most by a team through the first eight games of a postseason. The previous mark was 100 by Detroit in 2013 and Houston in 2022.
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