Gavin Williams Dominates Midweek Start as Guardians Snap Losing Skid Against Rays

The Cleveland Guardians are hoping to see the starting pitching rotation continue to dominate, with Gavin Williams anchoring the group with excellent play. He struck out nine across nearly eight innings on Wednesday.

Jul 6, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Gavin Williams (32) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Gavin Williams is the reason why the Cleveland Guardians won.

On Wednesday, April 29, the Guardians played host to the Tampa Bay Rays for the final outing of a three-game series from Progressive Field, downing them, 3-1. Starting on the mound for the Guardians was Gavin Williams, who produced an incredible outing.

He struck out nine batters across 7.2 innings of action, giving up five hits and one unearned run. For the first time since August 10, 2024, Williams finished a start with no walks. It's also just the third time in his career he has completed such a feat.

"Oh man, everything," Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said about what part of Williams' game impressed him. "I mean, that was one of the better fastballs he's had, but he was just ahead the whole day. It seemed like every hitter, you know, 0-1, a lot of second pitch outs on weak contact. But that was pretty special.

"Just the low pitch count, the attack in the zone, about as good as we've ever seen Gavin."

Williams finished the game with 95 pitches thrown, with his count at one point being at 54 after five innings. That low of a count allows a pitcher to stay grounded.

"I know there was a lot of one-pitch outs, so that definitely helps out a lot, too," he said, reflecting on his low pitch count. "But going back to it, counting the strikes, winning the 0-0, winning the 1-1 counts are the big things for me right now."

For most of his career, his walk rate has been a major concern, but on Wednesday, he once again showed that in 2026, he is trying to polish his game.

When asked about his lack of walks, Williams said that he actually jokes with himself to have fewer walks than the pitcher he is going up against.

"I mean, I keep telling myself I'm stacking them [strikeouts] up," Williams said. "The other pitcher had more walks than me again today. I think it's just a fun game for myself, especially coming off of last year, leading the league in walks. So just being able to joke about that, it's fun with myself, really."

On the campaign, Williams now owns a 2.70 ERA across seven starts and 43.1 innings pitched. He also sports a 1.02 WHIP and a .166 batting average against. He has 53 strikeouts to just 19 walks, showing a major jump in command.

"Yeah, I mean that's, we talk about it all the time [that] when Gavin throws strikes, that's what you get," Vogt said. "And you know, he looked under control from the first inning and even until we took him out he was under control."

And while it was fair to question Williams before the year began, given his past struggles with walks and command, he has answered every concern this season, staying locked in on the mound and consistently delivering outings that look every bit like Cy Young-caliber performances.

After Williams' time on the mound came to a close on Wednesday, the Guardians' coaching staff turned to the bullpen to close out the game.

Fortunately, a combination of Erik Sabrowski through 0.2 innings and Cade Smith through one was able to get the job done. They combined for just one hit allowed and three strikeouts, producing a comfortable finish.

Now, the focus for Cleveland shifts towards a series against Oakland, which is set to begin on Friday, May 1, at 9:40 p.m. EST.