Gavin Williams fans 9 to bring Guardians within 2 wins of World Series

Cleveland's pitcher Gavin Williams delivered a stellar performance in Game 3 of the AL Championship Series against Tampa Bay, striking out nine batters while allowing just two runs and two hits over five innings. This dominant showing helped the Guardians narrow the lead to just two wins away from potentially clinching their first World Series appearance in ten years. Williams' accomplishment marked him as the first pitcher in Cleveland postseason history to achieve three straight starts with at least nine strikeouts.

"Strikeouts are great, but my primary focus is on helping our team win and giving them the best possible chance to secure the victory," Williams stated. With a 2-0 record, 2.16 ERA, and 33 strikeouts in four postseason games, Williams has been on fire. His performance in Game 5 of the AL Division Series tied a franchise postseason record of 12 strikeouts, and he retired the Rays in order the first time through the lineup in Game 4.

However, he encountered some difficulties in the fourth inning when the Rays rallied to take a 2-1 lead.

In the fifth inning, Williams retired all four batters he faced, but his velocity dropped 3-4 mph on all his pitches, as noticed by outfielder Jose Vogt. Despite this, Williams continued to perform well and was pulled after the inning due to an abundance of caution. Vogt explained that while Williams looked sharp in the first four innings, the velocity drop was a concern. Williams acknowledged the decreased speed of his pitches and expressed gratitude for the decision to remove him from the game.

Williams' next start could very well be the decisive Game 7 on Tuesday night at Tropicana Field, though the schedule could be altered due to forecasted rain in Cleveland. With 33 strikeouts, Williams is hot on the heels of Orel Hershiser (1995) and Corey Kluber (2016) for the most strikeouts by a Cleveland pitcher in a postseason. So far, Cleveland pitchers have struck out 102, the highest tally by a team through the first eight games of a postseason.