Gavin Williams on Guardians naming him ALCS Game 4 starter vs Yankees
Cleveland Guardians pitcher Gavin Williams reflected on being named the AL Championship Series Game 4 starter vs. the New York Yankees.
Gavin Williams added another reel to his highlights this week with a no-hit bid going into the ninth inning of the Cleveland Guardians’ 4-1 win over the New York Mets on Wednesday, Aug. 6.
A 2017 graduate of Cape Fear High who went on to star at East Carolina, Williams got within two outs of Cleveland’s first no-hitter in 44 years, throwing a workman’s 126 pitches and leaving to a standing ovation at Citi Field after Juan Soto’s solo homer in the ninth.
“Man, it was that close,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said after the game. “I thought he was going to get it.”
Williams struck out six and walked four in the win, and his 2.08 ERA since May 3 is the lowest in the American League.
“Going into the ninth was pretty fun, pretty special,” Williams said. “At that point I didn’t even care about the pitch count. It didn’t matter if I went to 140 pitches. I would have done it anyway. It was pretty special to be out there. You never know when that’s gonna happen again.”
The game got off to a stressful start for Williams, who took a pair of hard comeback liners up the middle in the first inning, one off the bat of Franciso Lindor on the game’s second pitch that knocked off Williams’ glove before he recovered to get the out.
“It scared me, I will say that. I thought I was going to have to change pants or something,” Williams joked. “And then Alonso did the same thing and I thought I was really going to have to.”
Nicknamed “Big Rig” with a sturdy 6-foot-6 frame, Williams entered the ninth inning after retiring 14 batters in a row and throwing 111 pitches.
“I think one of the things you look at is the (velocity), and the velo was still there. The stuff was crisp,” Vogt said. “I didn’t dare ask him. … It was one of those things with a four-run lead like that, you gotta let him go.
“You don’t know how many chances these pitchers are ever going to have to do it. He was going to get to go the whole way.”
The No. 23 overall selection in the 2021 MLB Draft, Williams is the highest pick ever to come out of Cumberland County and he was called up in 2023 after being named the Guardians’ No. 1 prospect by MLB.com.
Williams was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 30th round of the 2017 draft out of high school after posting a 1.06 ERA and pitching three-straight no-hitters with an 18-1 record but he passed on the chance to go pro, opting instead to play at ECU, where he earned All-American and conference pitcher of the year honors. He had a 10-1 record in his final collegiate season.
Williams has struck out 123 batters in 23 starts for the Guardians this season with a 7-4 record and a 3.17 ERA.