Gavin Williams wanted the ball, and by Saturday night at Progressive Field he had made it plain why Stephen Vogt trusted him with the biggest start of Cleveland’s season. Two days after an 18-pitch emergency relief outing in Game 4 of the American League Division Series, Williams returned for the winner-take-all Game 5 and powered the Guardians past the White Sox, 2-0.
The right-hander worked 5 2/3 scoreless innings, yielding one hit, two walks and a hit batter while striking out 12. Cleveland’s staff piled up 21 strikeouts in the nine-inning game, a postseason record, and the Guardians moved on to face the Rays in the American League Championship Series. Game 1 is scheduled for Monday night at Tropicana Field, with coverage on TBS, truTV, UniMas and HBO Max.
For Vogt, the night also marked a clear measure of Williams’ growth. When the manager arrived in Cleveland two years ago, Williams was a quieter presence away from the mound and was still finding his footing as a big league pitcher. Vogt said Williams now understands the kind of pitcher he is and carries a steadily growing belief in himself.
That confidence showed in the request for this assignment. Williams had stepped into Thursday’s Game 4 in relief, but there was no visible carryover when he took the mound Saturday. He allowed only a second-inning walk to Tristan Peters across his first three frames and faced just one hitter above the minimum during that stretch.
His strikeout total built quickly. Williams fanned three in the second, added two more in the third, struck out the side in the fourth and collected another pair in the fifth. He finished level with Charles Nagy for Cleveland’s single-game postseason strikeout mark; Nagy had struck out 12 in Game 4 of the 1996 ALDS.
Williams was also one strikeout short of the record for a pitcher in a postseason elimination-game victory. Yankees right-hander Cam Schlittler reached the same 12-strikeout total in Game 3 of last year’s AL Wild Card Series, while Tigers ace Tarik Skubal set the mark in Game 5 of the 2025 ALDS.
Through five innings, Williams had not permitted a hit and had already recorded at least 11 strikeouts, putting him alongside Blue Jays pitcher Trey Yesavage as the only hurlers to open a postseason game that way through five. Yesavage did it in Game 2 of the 2025 ALDS.
The no-hit bid ended with two outs in the sixth when Kyle Teel singled. A walk to Miguel Vargas loaded the bases and brought Vogt from the dugout, ending Williams’ outing to a standing ovation. Williams remained animated in the third-base dugout as Erik Sabrowski struck out Munetaka Murakami to erase the threat and preserve the shutout.
For one October evening, Williams gave Cleveland both the overpowering fastball and the poise it needed. The reserved young pitcher Vogt first encountered has become a starter willing to ask for the season’s heaviest assignment—and capable of carrying it.
