Thanks to another brilliant outing by Gavin Williams, the Cleveland Guardians avoided a sweep on Wednesday afternoon with a narrow 3-2 win over the Washington Nationals. They had lost the first two games of the series this week.
Cleveland survived a late scare, as closer Cade Smith allowed a rare run in the ninth inning, but still managed to lock down the victory.
Salvaged the series!#GuardsBall | #GuardiWins pic.twitter.com/e9qSyj9qcO
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) May 27, 2026
Williams was magnificent, surrendering a single run in seven innings of work, to lead his team to the win. He conceded just three hits and walked two, striking out four.
Tim Herrin struck out two in a perfect eighth inning, and Smith got his 19th save of the year despite the run allowed.
Williams earned his eighth win of the young season, and his ERA now stands at a cool 3.07. He has been, along with Parker Messick, the best and most consistent starter for Cleveland this year.
The Nationals actually scored the first run of the game in the third inning. James Wood, who has tormented Guardians’ pitchers all series, opened the frame with a double. Williams was able to get the first two outs after that, but surrendered another double, this time to CJ Abrams, to bring Wood home.
The Guardians fought back and scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth. Austin Hedges reached on an error, and after Brayan Rocchio popped out to third base, Travis Bazzana hit the first of his two doubles in the afternoon to put runners in scoring position with one out.
A sac fly by Jose Ramirez brought Hedges home with the tying run, and Chase DeLauter followed with an RBI single to plate Bazzana with the go-ahead run. Kyle Manzardo singled, and Angel Martinez did the same to drive in DeLauter and give Cleveland a two-run lead they wouldn’t surrender.
The Nationals did try to tie the game in the ninth, though. Curtis Mead and Abrams hit consecutive singles to put runners on the corners with no outs, and a sac fly by Daylen Lyle brought the Nats’ second run.
Abrams stole second base to put the tying run in scoring position for Washington, but Jose Tena struck out swinging, and Jorbit Vivas was called out on strikes to end the threat and the game.
In addition to his two doubles, Bazzana could have had a homer, but Wood stole it:
James Wood with the most casual home run robbery 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/IOkVWk9AWX
— MLB (@MLB) May 27, 2026
DeLauter, Bazzana, and Martinez had two hits each in the win. Now, the Guardians will enjoy a much-deserved day off and return to play on Friday against the Boston Red Sox at home.
NEXT: Bruce Drennan Raves About 4 Young Guardians Hitters
