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Guardians 1, Phillies 0
IP H R ER BB K
Williams (W, 7-3) 8.0 4 0 0 0 11
Gavin Williams stole the show from Cristopher Sanchez last night, matching the Phillies’ ace zero for zero long enough for Kyle Manzardo to pull a smash-and-grab in the ninth inning for the win. Williams pounded the zone, throwing 18 first-pitch strikes to 27 hitters, not only not walking anyone but going to just three three-ball counts all night.
His sweeper generated ten whiffs on 16 swings, and after the first few innings he pocketed his four-seamer in favor of that sweeper, his two-seamer and curve. Overall, he used the four-seam fastball less and the sweeper and sinker more than he had all year. Williams’s fastball has been his least-effective pitch this year, so we’ll see if he continues to pocket it next time out.
The Guardians, who looked like a .500 team at the start of the year, are suddenly 31-22 with a four-game lead in the AL Central, and a 10 1/2-game lead against the division’s other viable contender in Detroit.
Sanchez, in the loss, extended his scoreless innings streak to 37 2/3 innings. He’s ten outs from tying the Phillies’ record, though at least three starts from Orel Hershiser’s mark of 59 in a row, set in 1988.
