CLEVELAND -- When Gavin Williams is at his best, he’s a menacing matchup for opposing hitters behind his swing-and-miss stuff that can be seemingly impossible to hit. In short, it’s exactly what we saw in the fourth inning on Thursday against the Twins at Progressive Field.
Williams became the fifth recorded pitcher in Cleveland franchise history to throw an immaculate inning (three strikeouts on nine total pitches) on Thursday. The Guardians right-hander struck out Byron Buxton, Ryan Jeffers and Josh Bell in the fourth, all swinging.
Williams became the first Cleveland pitcher to throw an immaculate inning since Enyel De Los Santos on Sept. 27, 2022, in the seventh inning against the Blue Jays. It’s otherwise quite an exclusive club in franchise history.
Justin Masterson threw an immaculate inning on June 4, 2014, in the fourth inning against the Red Sox. Carlos Carraco threw one on July 7, 2017, in the fifth inning against the Tigers. Zach Plesac threw another on Sept. 28, 2020, against the Tigers.
Williams got ahead of Buxton with a sinker that was called a strike. The center fielder fouled off a sweeper before he whiffed on a 98.8 mph four-seam fastball up and away.
Jeffers swung and missed at three consecutive sweepers. Bell took a curveball for a strike, fouled off a four-seamer and whiffed on a 99.2 mph sinker, as Williams capped off the immaculate frame.
Williams entered Thursday having logged 11 strikeouts in each of his previous two starts. His 145 strikeouts were tied for fourth most in MLB with Yankees right-hander Cam Schlittler. As we’ve continued to see this season, Williams has become one of the Majors’ best strikeout artists.
“We’ve talked about it for a couple years. When Gavin throws strikes, he's dominant,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said pregame Thursday. “We saw it obviously his last couple times out. He's doing it with all of his pitches too, with the fastball, with both breaking balls. He's getting punchouts, and when you punch people out, you don't put it in play, you're going to get outs.
“We’ve just really seen Gavin grow, and even through his struggles, I think a lot of pitchers would take his struggles to be their ‘A’ game.”