The Cleveland Guardians walked away from Game 2 of the American League Division Series with a painful 4-3 loss to the White Sox, but Gavin Williams gave the sellout crowd at Progressive Field plenty to cheer about. The right hander was nearly unhittable for most of his five innings on Monday night, racking up eleven strikeouts and putting Cleveland in position to even the series. His bullpen could not hold the lead after he exited, and the Guardians now trail two games to none heading to Chicago. Even so, Williams’ performance will go down as one of the best postseason outings by a Cleveland pitcher in a long time. In fact, he did something no pitcher in franchise history had ever done in October.
MLB Network pointed out that Williams is the first Cleveland pitcher ever to strike out five straight batters in a #Postseason game.
“Gavin Williams is the first Cleveland pitcher ever to strike out five straight batters in a #Postseason game!” MLB Network posted.
Gavin Williams is the first Cleveland pitcher ever to strike out five straight batters in a #Postseason game! 🔥
(via @EliasSports) pic.twitter.com/dPZAyDAT4c
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) October 5, 2026
That is quite a statement considering the long list of talented arms that have pitched for this franchise in the postseason. The streak came early in the game, as Williams carved through the White Sox lineup with six strikeouts over the first three scoreless innings. The crowd grew louder with every punchout, and for a while it looked like Chicago had no answer for him at all.
Williams finished with eleven strikeouts, which left him just one shy of the franchise postseason record. Charles Nagy set that mark with twelve strikeouts against Baltimore in the 1996 ALDS, and Williams came within a single strikeout of matching it despite pitching only five innings. He allowed two runs on four hits with three walks, and both of those runs came in innings where he otherwise dominated.
This performance was also a fitting capstone to a breakout year. Williams led the American League with 248 strikeouts during the regular season and posted a 2.54 ERA in September as Cleveland chased down the White Sox for the division title. He has now carried that dominance straight into October.
The Guardians still face a steep climb, needing three straight wins to keep their season alive. If they manage to pull it off, they know they have a pitcher waiting at the end who has already proven he can make history on this stage.
NEXT: Guardians Will Try To Do Something No Team Has Done In 11 Years
