The Cleveland Guardians are facing elimination in the American League Championship Series, but they will not be throwing their ace into the fire to save their season on Monday night. After a 3-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 5 on Sunday, the Guardians trail the best of seven series three games to two and need to win back to back games at Tropicana Field to reach the World Series. Many fans assumed Cleveland might turn to its best pitcher on short rest with the season on the line. Stephen Vogt quickly shut that idea down after the game. MLB.com’s Tim Stebbins shared the news.
“Gavin Williams is not an option to start on short rest, Stephen Vogt said,” Stebbins posted.
The Guardians are mapping out their Game 6 pitching plan, but Gavin Williams is not an option to start on short rest, Stephen Vogt said.
— Tim Stebbins (@tim_stebbins) October 19, 2026
Stebbins added that the Guardians are still mapping out their Game 6 pitching plan. Williams last pitched in Game 3 on Thursday, which means Monday would have been his third day of rest. Instead, Cleveland will keep him on track to start a potential Game 7 on Tuesday on regular rest.
The decision makes sense when you look at how much Williams has been through this October. In addition to his three postseason starts, he made the first relief appearance of his big league career in Game 4 of the division series against the White Sox, then came back two days later to start the decisive Game 5. Between the regular season and the playoffs, he has now thrown more than 200 innings. Pushing him on short rest could compromise both his effectiveness and his health.
When he is fully rested, Williams has been one of the best pitchers in baseball this postseason. He is 2-0 with a 2.16 ERA, and his 44 strikeouts through his first five career postseason starts trail only Hall of Famers Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson. The Guardians clearly believe they will get the best version of him in a Game 7.
That means Cleveland will need someone else to step up on Monday. Tanner Bibee is one of the freshest options available, having not pitched since a brief relief appearance in the division series. The Opening Day starter led the staff with nineteen quality starts during the regular season. Joey Cantillo, Slade Cecconi and Daniel Espino are also candidates to help cover innings, and Vogt has shown throughout the postseason that he is willing to get creative with openers and bulk relievers.
The bullpen will be under a heavy load, too. Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis and Erik Sabrowski all pitched in Game 5 after sitting out Game 4, and they combined with Shawn Armstrong for six scoreless innings on Sunday. With no off days remaining in the series, Vogt will have to manage his relievers carefully across what could be two straight elimination games.
Vogt is trusting the rest of his staff to get the Guardians to Tuesday. If they do, Williams will be waiting.
NEXT: Guardians Suffer Crushing Game 5 Loss To Rays
