Gavin Williams’ Thoughts Following His Winning Performance Against the Dodgers

Gavin Williams put his struggle-filled season opening performance behind him on Wednesday, April 1.

The 26-year-old pitched through seven innings while on the mound against the Los Angeles Dodgers, putting on a clinic against some of the league's best bats. He finished the outing with 10 strikeouts, and just two hits and three walks. That type of command and control directly led to the Guardians coming out on top, 4-1.

It was a great sign that he's trending in the right direction, especially considering just a few days ago, he gave up six walks and a two-out three-run home run to the Seattle Mariners.

Following his bounce-back outing, Williams spoke to the media and shared what worked for him in the win.

“Just filling up the zone," Williams said. "First pitch strikes are a big thing. Worked on that from the last outing. Just being able to throw a first pitch strike and then going from there, it’s gonna open up everything.”

He was consistently keeping batters on their toes, changing back and forth between his four-seamer and sweeper. He threw those two pitches 24 and 23 times, respectively. He also mixed in his sinker, cutter and curveball a high amount.

He finished the game with 48 total strikes.

Gavin Williams, 97mph Fastball and 89mph Sweeper, Overlay. pic.twitter.com/wB8AtL0CUM
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 2, 2026

Being able to mix up his pitches as much as he did, and still not allow much contact, was an important sign that, mechanically, he was doing things right. Of his 85 pitches, only 25 were made contact with. 15 of those 25 were foul balls, while eight were hit into outs and two were knocked into play.

His performance was also recognized as a historic one.

He's now just the third Guardians pitcher to record 10 or more strikeouts against the Dodgers, joining CC Sabathia and Corey Kluber.

While that level of control and ability to limit success at the plate is typically attributed to the pitcher, Williams gave much of the credit to catcher Bo Naylor, who was behind the plate on Wednesday night.

“I mean, that's pretty sick. I'd have never known that," he said. "That's awesome, just being that category. But I mean, if it wasn't for Bo [Naylor], then I don't know if I could do that.”

Williams is now up to 12 innings pitched on the 2026 campaign, posting a 2.25 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP in the process. He's recorded 17 total strikeouts, all while allowing a measly four hits and nine walks. He has given up one long ball, but as Wednesday showed, that shouldn't be a recurring issue for him moving forward. He now has a 1-1 overall record while on the mound.

Guardians manager Stephen Vogt was impressed by the way that Williams was able to put Friday's game behind him so quickly and pitch really well. He also complimented Naylor as well.

“That’s about as good as it gets from Gavin right there," Vogt said. "Had every pitch working, and he and Bo were on the same page. Great sequences all night. Gavin just executed pitch after pitch after pitch. And, you know, we saw a couple kind of bad walks mixed in there, but then dialed it right back in. So, just an outstanding job by Gavin. I can't say enough about that performance tonight.”

#Guardians Stepehen Vogt on Gavin Williams 10 strikeout performance tonight:
“That’s about as good as it gets from Gavin right there. Had every pitch working, and he and Bo were on the same page. Great sequences all night. Gavin just executed pitch after pitch after pitch. And,…
— Mason Horodyski (@MasonHorodyski) April 2, 2026

The Guardians are taking plenty of momentum into the Home Opener on Friday, April 3, as they prepare to take on the Chicago Cubs at 4:20 p.m. EST.