CLEVELAND -- Gavin Williams walked by Guardians manager Stephen Vogt’s office on Thursday night with a message.
Williams made an emergency relief appearance in the Guardians’ 9-5 win over the White Sox in Game 4 of the American League Division Series, as Cleveland forced a decisive Game 5 on Saturday at Progressive Field.
Williams was in line to start Saturday, before he was thrust into action Thursday for his first professional appearance out of the bullpen. If there was any doubt whether that would impact his status for Game 5, he squashed it.
Williams was the last man standing in Game 4. He'll be first man up in Game 5
“It's a Game 5, win or go home,” Vogt said Friday. “Gavin wants the ball. We want him to have the ball, and it's his game.”
Williams recorded the final three outs on Thursday in relief of closer Cade Smith. Even he didn’t think the game would reach a point where his number would be called. But when that moment arrived, Williams seized it.
The big right-hander is taking the same mentality into Game 5.
“Whatever [it is] to help the team win, that's what I'm going to do,” Williams said Friday. “It doesn't matter the role at this point.”
Williams started the Guardians' 4-3 loss in Game 2 on Monday. He was lined up to pitch Saturday on normal rest, but there was a caveat. Williams arrived at the ballpark on Thursday available in relief.
If the Guardians were in position to win, Williams would throw his regular between-starts bullpen session in-game, to stay ready for Saturday. The Guardians led, 9-4, when he began to throw in the bullpen in the ninth. After their script had long gone awry, it was evident he may be needed.
“They called down and were like, ‘Get hot,’” Williams said. “I didn't think it was going to be that quick.
Starter Parker Messick threw 65 pitches over just 2 1/3 innings. Shawn Armstrong relieved him and threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings, and Cleveland used Tanner Bibee, Tim Herrin and Erik Sabrowski in the fifth, when the White Sox scored twice to take a 4-3 lead.
Bibee and Herrin recorded one out apiece. Sabrowski threw a full inning, and Hunter Gaddis followed with 1 1/3 innings.
A six-run sixth inning gave the Guardians a 9-4 lead. With the season on the line, Vogt then turned to Smith in the eighth. He worked a scoreless frame, before allowing a solo homer to Miguel Vargas and a walk to Munetaka Murakami to open the ninth.
Smith’s pitch count sat at 31 at that point, after he worked two innings in Game 3 on Wednesday. He put the Guardians on the doorstep. With his workload, they needed someone to finish things off and hold a four-run lead.
Cleveland’s available options were Williams, Daniel Espino, Matt Festa and Joey Cantillo. The Guardians didn’t have to turn to Williams, but he was ready for one inning and is one of their most trustworthy pitchers.
If Williams was going to pitch, Vogt didn’t want the first batter he faced to be with the potential tying run on deck. Williams entered after Murakami’s walk and allowed a base hit, but retired the next three batters to seal the win.
Williams would have thrown on Thursday regardless. The Guardians hope his relief appearance acts as a high-intensity bullpen session.
“The body feels good right now,” Williams said. “I’ve been in the training room all morning, just figuring it out. But it's just a normal day really. I throw a ‘pen on those days and everybody knows it, so there's nothing different.”
There is a question of how much length Williams will provide in Game 5. The Guardians will learn by monitoring things in real time.
“The game will tell us when it's time to move on, or maybe he takes it the whole way,” Vogt said. “We don't know. We’ve gotta get there and find out.”
Each of Cleveland’s starters (Messick, Williams, Bibee, Cantillo and Foster Griffin, who was unavailable Thursday) pitched the past two games. Smith and his bullpen mates have taken on a heavy workload this week.
If the Guardians win Game 5, they’ll have more questions to solve before Game 1 of the AL Championship Series on Monday against the Rays. They must secure that matchup first.
“If you're a pitcher on our roster, be ready to go tomorrow,” Vogt said. “It's all hands on deck. We need to win tomorrow."
Williams will lead the way.
“You’ve just gotta think of it as another game,” Williams said. “You can't really think of it as a win-or-go-home type game. Everybody has a job, and they know their job, and you've just gotta execute it.”