The Los Angeles Dodgers have assembled one of the best lineups that MLB has ever seen, but you wouldn’t have known it with the way Gavin Williams pitched on Wednesday night.
The Cleveland Guardians couldn’t have asked for a better outing from their starter, and Williams’ performance is truly what set the tone for Cleveland’s 4-1 series-clinching victory.
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Williams threw 7.0 shutout innings while only giving up two hits. He also issued just three walks and became one of three Cleveland pitchers to strike out 10 batters in a game. The others are Corey Kluber (2017) and CC Sabathia (2008).
“That’s pretty sick,” said Williams after learning that he joined the duo of pitchers in Cleveland history. “That’s awesome, being in that category.”
One of the biggest standouts from Williams’ start was his ability to miss plenty of Dodgers bats. Cleveland’s pitcher ended the night with 16 swings and misses; six from the sweeper and curveball, and three from the fastball.
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Williams also deserves a ton of credit for how he responded in this start. The Guardians pitcher had a shaky season debut against the Seattle Mariners last week, where he really struggled with his command.
Williams said his focus coming off the last start was throwing more first-pitch strikes. He walked six batters in against Seattle, but bounced back for a strike rate of 65 percent against the Dodgers.
Stephen Vogt noted that Williams made some minor mechanical adjustments from start to start, but also once again credited Cleveland’s coaching staff for helping the pitchers between outings.
Apr 1, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Cleveland Guardians pitcher Gavin Williams (32) pitches during the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
“That’s what’s so special about our pitchers and Carl Willis and our pitching team,” said Cleveland’s skipper after the game. “They’re able to identify little adjustments that our guys need to make, and we see improvements like that all the time with our guys.”
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Outside of throwing more strikes, Williams noted his focus between starts was not as quick with his torso movement, which caused him to pull the ball.
Williams should be more than pleased with his outing against the Dodgers, and if that’s the type of pitcher the Guardians get for the majority of the season, it’s not outlandish to say they could once again have a Cy Young contender in their rotation.
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