Gavin Williams turned in one of the most dominant outings of his career on Thursday, striking out 11 batters over seven scoreless innings and becoming just the fifth pitcher in Cleveland franchise history to record an immaculate inning. Williams retired Byron Buxton, Ryan Jeffers, and Josh Bell on nine total pitches, all strikeouts, in the fourth inning of a game the Guardians ultimately lost 3-1 in 12 innings to the Minnesota Twins. The feat marked just the second immaculate inning recorded anywhere in the majors this season, following Arizona’s Michael Soroka back in March, and it pushed Williams to the American League lead in strikeouts with 156 on the year. Despite the historic effort, Cleveland’s offense could not back him up, finishing 0 for 17 with runners in scoring position as Williams was saddled with a tough-luck no-decision.
MLB.com’s Tim Stebbins detailed just how exclusive the company Williams joined truly is within Cleveland’s pitching history.
“Williams is in some exclusive company now. The list of recorded immaculate innings thrown by a Cleveland pitcher is short. He became the first to pull off the feat since Enyel De Los Santos on Sept. 27, 2022, in the seventh inning against the Blue Jays. Otherwise, the recorded instances include Justin Masterson (June 2, 2014, in the fourth inning against the Red Sox), Carlos Carrasco (July 7, 2017, in the fifth inning against the Tigers) and Zach Plesac (Sept. 18, 2020, in the second inning against the Tigers),” Stebbins wrote.
Stebbins noted that the only other recorded instances of a Cleveland pitcher throwing an immaculate inning belong to Justin Masterson in 2014, Carlos Carrasco in 2017, and Zach Plesac in 2020, making Williams just the fifth arm in franchise history to accomplish the feat.
Manager Stephen Vogt, a former big league catcher himself, called the sequence a pretty special moment that rarely happens, saying the tension mounts with each strike as a pitcher closes in on the accomplishment. Patrick Bailey’s solo home run in the fifth inning ended up being Cleveland’s only run of the game, as Minnesota rallied late despite Williams matching his own recent form of three straight starts with at least 11 strikeouts and consecutive outings without issuing a walk. Vogt praised the growth Williams has shown this season, noting that when he commands his fastball and both breaking balls, he becomes a dominant force that opposing lineups simply cannot solve.
The Guardians will look to carry the positive pitching momentum into their weekend series against the Tampa Bay Rays, hoping the offense can finally provide the run support that has eluded some of the staff’s best individual efforts. As the trade deadline approaches, performances like Thursday’s only reinforce how much Cleveland’s success continues to hinge on its pitching depth carrying an offense still searching for consistency.
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