Gavin Williams whiffs 13 in 7 innings and leads Guardians to 6-1 win over Blue Jays

Cleveland's Gavin Williams struck out a career-high 13 batters and limited the Toronto Blue Jays to just two singles over seven innings, leading the Guardians to a 6-1 victory on Tuesday night. The matchup came as both teams fought for a spot in the American League's wild-card race. Patrick Bailey, Angel Genao, and Angel Martinez each hit two-run homers for the Guardians, who have won 11 of their last 12 games since August 12.

The Guardians' slim lead for the third wild-card spot became relevant after Williams' dominant performance. Williams (13-7) began September by dominating the Blue Jays, allowing only one unearned run. The right-hander went scoreless until the fourth inning and struck out the side in the seventh, fanning five of his last six batters.

Hunter Gaddis and Matt Festa contributed to the shutout by pitching an inning apiece. Bailey hit his eighth career homer, putting the Guardians up 2-1 in the fifth inning. Angel Martinez started proceedings on the night with a walk and then drove in the first run of the game with a single. Genao followed with a 426-foot blast that cleared the left-field fence, and Martinez extended the lead to 4-1 with his own two-run homer.

The Blue Jays scored their lone run in the fifth when Kazuma Okamoto reached base and later scored on a wild pitch from Williams. Toronto starter Dylan Cease (9-5, 2.33 ERA) will attempt to avenge the loss in Wednesday's start against Cleveland, facing the Guardians' left-hander Joey Cantillo (9-7, 3.70).