The Cleveland Guardians won one of their biggest games of the season.
Clearly, the decision to bump up Gavin Williams to get him on the mound against the Detroit Tigers was the right call by manager Stephen Vogt.
The Guardians’ hurler put together one of his strongest outings of the year, taming the Tigers’ offense.
That’s why, after the game, Detroit manager A.J. Hinch had no choice but to tip his hat.
“Gavin Williams is nasty,” Hinch said. “Those breaking balls are real, legit, chase pitches, and he can run it up there near 100 [mph].”
Williams gave up just three hits and two walks.
He struck out nine, throwing 67 strikes on 100 pitches.
Notably, he overcame a somewhat difficult start to the game.
His pitch count was at 49 through two innings, and he was constantly facing foul balls.
Yet, despite not always staying ahead in the count, he remained calm and was able to weather the storm.
The Guardians gave him two runs of support, with two runs coming after he left the game.
Cleveland has won the first two of the three-game series against the top team in the AL Central.
Now, they will ask Tanner Bibee to keep the momentum going in a matchup against Tigers ace Tarik Skubal.
Cleveland is 4.5 games behind Detroit for the top spot in the division, and with four games left against the Tigers this season, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the Guardians’ chances of making the playoffs.
NEXT: Guardians Notch 2 Season Highs After Win Against Tigers
