Guardians’ Gavin Williams takes MLB lead with 11ks vs. Orioles

The Cleveland Guardians prevailed 4-2 over the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday, behind an electric outing from right-handed starter Gavin Williams that moved him into the MLB lead in strikeouts.

Williams pitched seven innings, allowing one earned run on three hits with one walk while striking out 11 hitters. The performance matched the second-most strikeouts he’s ever had in a single game in his career and was his sixth career game with double-digit strikeouts, including his second of the 2026 season. He threw 100 pitches, 73 for strikes, producing a 73% strike rate, the third-best clip of his career.

Gavin Williams struck out 11 in route to his MLB-leading 40 on the season pic.twitter.com/LueVgN2BNt

— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 19, 2026

After surrendering a solo home run to Leody Taveras in the fourth inning, Williams retired the final 11 batters he faced. He now has a league-leading 40 strikeouts on the season. Through five starts, he holds a 2.12 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and a .133 opponents’ batting average, with 13 hits allowed overall.

Offensively, Brayan Rocchio provided the telling swing. In the fifth inning, after Rhys Hoskins walked and Daniel Schneemann singled, Rocchio launched a two-out, three-run homer 357 feet to right field off Dean Kremer, who allowed three runs on two hits over six innings.

The Orioles closed the gap to 3-2 in the eighth on a home run by Gunnar Henderson, but Bo Naylor answered in the bottom half with a 397-foot solo shot, his first of the season, hit at 104.7 mph.

Additional contributions included Jose Ramírez stealing his 10th base of the year, becoming the first player to reach double digits this season. Out of the bullpen, Cade Smith secured his fifth save by striking out the side in the ninth.

As a staff, the Guardians pitchers struck out 16 hitters, while limiting them to four hits.

Cleveland and Baltimore will meet again on Sunday in the series finale, with the first pitch scheduled for 1:40 p.m. EST.

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