CLEVELAND -- The curveball from Gavin Williams produced an awkward half swing from Kyle Teel in the fifth inning Monday night. As third-base umpire Vic Carapazza ruled Teel went too far, Williams spun around and let out a roar in tune with the sellout crowd at Progressive Field.
When Williams is at his best, it looks a lot like it did for much of Monday night, when the big right-hander made some franchise history in Game 2 of the AL Division Series.
Williams struck out 11 White Sox hitters over five-plus innings to become only the third Cleveland pitcher to rack up double-digit punchouts in a postseason game. The big right-hander finished one shy of a franchise record set by Charles Nagy (12) in Game 4 of the 1996 ALDS, and joined Bartolo Colon (11 in Game 1 of the 1999 ALDS; 10 in Game 1 of the 2001 ALDS) in hitting the mark.
This, of course, was something Williams did routinely during the 2026 regular season, when he finished second in MLB in strikeouts (248) and led the Majors in reaching double digits punchouts in 11 starts.
Williams was off and running from the first inning on Monday. He struck out Munetaka Murakami looking to end the frame and mark the first of five consecutive strikeouts. Williams became the first Cleveland pitcher to log such a streak in the postseason.
Williams also threw 18 pitches at 100 mph or faster, tying Emmanuel Clase (Sept. 18, 2021) for the most by a Cleveland pitcher in the regular season or postseason (since 2008).
Williams’ strikeout of Teel ended the fifth inning, when the Guardians held a 2-1 lead. A leadoff single by Miguel Vargas marked the end of his night, in which he was charged with two runs on four hits and three walks.
Chicago scored three times in the sixth inning off Williams, Erik Sabrowski and Hunter Gaddis, to take a 4-2 lead.