Gavin Williams gave Cleveland a five-inning October look at the force that carried him through the regular season Monday night at Progressive Field, piling up 11 strikeouts in Game 2 of the American League Division Series before Chicago turned the game in the sixth.
The big right-hander was in command from the opening inning against the White Sox. He froze Munetaka Murakami for the final out of the first, beginning a run of five straight strikeouts that stands as a Cleveland postseason first. Williams kept attacking with premium velocity and a curveball that repeatedly took hitters out of their plans.
One of the sharper moments came in the fifth. Kyle Teel started to offer at a breaking ball, only for third-base umpire Vic Carapazza to rule that he had gone around. Williams spun toward the sellout crowd and roared after the call, having finished the inning with Cleveland ahead 2-1.
Williams became the third pitcher in franchise postseason history to reach 10 strikeouts in a game. Charles Nagy owns the club record with 12 strikeouts in Game 4 of the 1996 ALDS, while Bartolo Colon had 11 in the opener of the 1999 ALDS and 10 in Game 1 of the 2001 ALDS. Williams finished one strikeout short of Nagy’s mark.
There was plenty of regular-season form in the outing. Williams finished second in the Majors with 248 strikeouts in 2026 and led MLB by recording double-digit strikeout totals in 11 starts. On Monday, he also delivered 18 pitches at 100 mph or more, matching Emmanuel Clase’s total from Sept. 18, 2021, for the most by a Cleveland pitcher in either the regular season or postseason since 2008.
A Miguel Vargas single to open the sixth brought Williams’ night to a close. He was charged with two runs on four hits and three walks over five-plus innings. Chicago then pushed across three runs in the sixth against Williams, Erik Sabrowski and Hunter Gaddis, moving in front 4-2 and spoiling a night in which Cleveland’s starter had supplied a memorable entry in the club’s October record book.
