CLEVELAND — Guardians right-hander Gavin Williams, who threw 210 pitches over six days against the Chicago White Sox, will start Game 3 of the American League Championship Series against the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday, the club announced.
Williams, who will take the ball opposite Tampa Bay right-hander Griffin Jax, threw 11â…” innings over three appearances in the AL Division Series against the Chicago White Sox.
He pitched five innings in Game 2 of that series before throwing 18 pitches in an inning out of the bullpen in Game 4 on two days’ rest. Two days later, he posted 12 strikeouts over 5â…” innings in Game 5 as Cleveland came back from an 0-2 deficit to advance to the ALCS.
“I feel like that was kind of a normal workload for me, except throwing in the game for my pen session,” Williams said. “But nothing really. Body feels good. Arm feels good. And going to go out there tomorrow.”
Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said Williams threw a bullpen Tuesday in Tampa Bay before the club settled on him starting Game 3.
“We just wanted to see how he responded to the workload to determine when the best time for him to pitch in the series would be,” Antonetti said.
Williams, 27, finished the regular season with a 3.76 ERA and an AL-leading 248 strikeouts in 184â…“ innings over 32 starts. He will take the mound Thursday earlier than expected after Major League Baseball moved the start time for Game 3 up from 6 p.m. to 1 p.m. ET with rain in the forecast for Northeast Ohio later in the day.
The change could benefit Williams if the regular season is any indication; he had a 4.82 ERA in 19 night starts and a 2.42 ERA in 13 day starts.
“I feel like I’m very routine-oriented,” Williams said. “I wake up about the same time every day, no matter if it’s a night game or a day game. I honestly stick to my routines throughout the whole day. I know the process of warming up changes from a day game to a night game, but everything else in between stays the same.”
Jax’s postseason workload, meanwhile, has consisted of a single two-inning relief outing in Game 3 of the ALDS against the New York Yankees. The converted reliever will make his first career postseason start on seven days’ rest from that appearance, in which he allowed a run, walked one and struck out four. It will be his first start since logging three scoreless innings Sept. 26 against the Philadelphia Phillies in an outing that was cut short after he took a line drive off his lower back.
“It’s a big honor, one that I’ve been looking forward to for a really long time now that I’m in the rotation,” Jax said. “Didn’t work out in the division series, but I was just happy to pitch any single role I could have. But here now, in a seven-game series, looking forward to helping this team, starting this game.”
Jax, 31, was one of baseball’s best relievers when the Rays acquired him from the Minnesota Twins at the trade deadline last season. He opened this season as a reliever before beginning his transition to the rotation at the end of April. He compiled a 3.14 ERA in 23 starts compared with an 8.00 ERA in 11 relief appearances.
“What we like is what he’s done as a starter for us all season long,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “A lot of confidence with him. It’s really good stuff. He gets it in the zone. Gets himself in rhythm. I think he’s done a tremendous job of transitioning into that starter routine and just go do what he’s done.”
