CLEVELAND — A streak lasting far longer than Gavin Williams cared for is over.
So is the first significant losing streak of the season for the Guardians.
Williams walked no one for the first time in 45 starts in leading the Guardians to a 3-1 home win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday, April 29, to snap a four-game losing streak.
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Williams pitched 7⅔ innings to get the win, finishing with 71 strikes in 95 pitches on a rainy and foggy day in Cleveland. He struck out nine and allowed five hits and one unearned run.
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Cleveland Guardians home series vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Apr 27, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Steven Matz (32) delivers a pitch in the second inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images
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Cleveland Guardians home series vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Apr 27, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Steven Matz (32) delivers a pitch in the second inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images
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Cleveland Guardians home series vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Apr 27, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Parker Messick (77) delivers a pitch in the third inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images
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Cleveland Guardians home series vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Apr 27, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio (4) throws to first base in the third inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images
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Cleveland Guardians home series vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Apr 27, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Tampa Bay Rays center fielder Jonny DeLuca (21) makes a catch in the third inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images
The last start Williams did not walk a batter before Wednesday was Aug. 10, 2024.
“I keep telling myself I’m stacking them up,” Williams said. “The other pitcher had more walks than me again, I think, today. I think it’s just a running joke with myself, especially coming off of last year, leading the league in walks. So, just being able to joke about that, it’s fun with myself really.”
The Guardians have co-aces in their pitching rotation in Williams, a right-hander, and left-hander Parker Messick.
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Messick is 3-0 with a 1.73 ERA, 38 strikeouts and 10 walks over 36 innings in six starts.
Guardians starter Gavin Williams throws a pitch in the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays, April 29, 2026, in Cleveland.
Williams is 5-1 with a 2.70 ERA in seven starts, and leads Major League Baseball in strikeouts with 53. He is the only MLB pitcher to have pitched three games this season of at least seven innings and with at least nine strikeouts.
“Just pounding the [strike] zone really,” Williams said. “That’s what happens when you pound the zone. .. It feels good just to be able to pound the zone and go as many innings as I did.”
Williams is fourth in innings pitched with 43⅓, trailing Seattle‘s George Kirby (45), Miami‘s Sandy Alcantara (45⅓) and New York Yankees ace Max Fried (47⅓).
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Williams struck out Taylor Walls three times and Junior Caminero and Jonathan Aranda twice each.
Guardians starting pitcher Gavin Williams celebrates during the seventh inning against the Tampa Bay Rays, April 29, 2026, in Cleveland.
“Gav was awesome,” Guardians catcher Bo Naylor said. “… He attacked from start to finish. Did a really good job and had a really good feel for all of his pitches.”
The only run Williams allowed was unearned in the seventh. Yandy Diaz lined a one-out single to center and scored on a throwing error by second baseman Travis Bazzana.
“That was one of the better fastballs he’s had,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said of Williams. “He was just ahead the whole day. It seemed like every hitter, he’d get 0-1, got a lot of second-pitch outs and a lot of weak contact. That was pretty special, just the low-pitch count, the attacking the zone. That was about as good as we’ve ever seen Gavin.
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“… We talk about it all the time, when Gavin throws strikes, that’s what you get. And he looked under control from the first inning, and even until we took him out he was under control, pounding the zone, not a whole lot of hard-hit balls.”
Erik Sabrowski entered in relief of Williams with two outs and Chandler Simpson and Caminero on base in the eighth, and struck out Jonathan Aranda to end the inning.
Cade Smith worked around Yandy Diaz’s leadoff single in the ninth to pitch a scoreless inning and earn his seventh save. Smith struck out Jake Fraley and Richie Palacios.
“Fastball was good,” Vogt said of Smith. “I thought the split had some life to it. Cade’s been good. He’s had some little hiccups here and there to start the year, but Cade’s been looking better and better each time out.”
Guardians starting pitcher Gavin Williams throws a pitch against the Tampa Bay Rays in the first inning, April 29, 2026, in Cleveland.
Williams received run support that Guardians right-hander Tanner Bibee did not in a 1-0 loss to the Rays on April 28.
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“It was good to get a win,” said Vogt, the AL Manager of the Year in 2024 and 2025. “It’s always happier when we fly across the country after a win. So, I’m sure the plane will be nice and rowdy and guys will have a good time.”
Brayan Rocchio sparks Guardians offense again
Shortstop Brayan Rocchio continued to be a bright spot in the Guardians lineup as the No. 9 hitter. He hit three singles, reached base in all four plate appearances and scored two runs on Wednesday.
Rocchio led off the third with a single to center off Rays starter Drew Rasmussen and stole second. Chase DeLauter walked with one out, José Ramírez hit into a fielder’s choice and Kyle Manzardo lifted a sacrifice fly to score Rocchio.
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Rocchio reached on an error by Rays first baseman Jonathan Aranda leading off the fifth inning. Steven Kwan followed with a double to right and Chase DeLauter delivered a single to center to score Rocchio and Kwan.
“Offense has been a little scarce for the last week, and just for us to come through in those big moments, great at-bat by Chase, great at-bat by Manzo to get the runners in from third,” Vogt said. “And they’re a really good team over there [with an 18-12 record]. They pitch well, they play good defense and we pitch well, play good defense.
“So, it’s always a battle whenever we play each other, and not surprised that no one scored a lot of runs.”
Akron Beacon Journal sports writer Michael Beaven can be reached by email at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Guardians get ace-like pitching performance from Gavin Williams