Guards hopeful Williams can pitch his way into being No. 2 starter

MILWAUKEE -- The Guardians desperately need Gavin Williams to pitch his way into being a No. 2 starter behind Tanner Bibee, who has become the staff ace since Shane Bieber, the 2020 American League Cy Young Award winner, was lost for the season after having Tommy John surgery in April.

Williams has shown positive signs since coming off the injured list on June 30 after missing the first half of the season with right elbow inflammation. He took the mound against the Brewers on Friday night at American Family Field having gone 2-0 with a 0.84 ERA in four road starts this season, surrendering just three runs (two earned) over 21 1/3 innings.

But in the first inning, Willy Adames connected for a three-run home run with two outs off Williams. The first-inning outburst led to a 5-3 loss for Cleveland, ending the Guardians’ five-game winning streak and giving Williams his first loss away from Progressive Field this season.

The Brewers tacked on another run against Williams in third on Garrett Mitchell’s RBI double and yet another in the fourth when Brice Turang slapped a single up the middle to drive in Joey Ortiz, who tripled with one out.

Williams had some success throwing first-pitch strikes with his fastball, but Brewers’ hitters took advantage of his offspeed secondary pitches.

“Even with the fastball, I wasn’t really putting it where I wanted to,” Williams said. “I was missing over the plate just a little bit too much.”

Even when Williams got ahead in the count, he struggled to put away batters.

“Even with two strikes, sometimes I felt like I was making a good pitch and they were just laying off of it, especially the curveball early on,” he said. “I just didn’t make my pitches when I should have.”

Williams (2-5) lasted just four innings, giving up five runs on six hits and two walks with five strikeouts in the 92-pitch outing (60 strikes).

“They did a good job of fouling off a ton of pitches and made him work,” manager Stephen Vogt said. “He was having a hard time commanding the offspeed. He had great command with the fastball. They made him throw a ton of pitches and got his pitch count up. Any time a team is fouling off a ton of pitches like that, it’s frustrating. They had great at-bats against him. Tip your cap to a good offense.”

Williams, who is in his second season in the Major Leagues, was facing Milwaukee for the first time. The rough outing against the Brewers continued a troubling trend for Williams, who is now 0-10 with a 5.14 ERA in 16 starts when facing a new opponent.

The need for Williams to establish himself near the top of the rotation is intensified given that Ben Lively, who is set to start on Sunday and has 10 wins this season, has cooled off considerably after a torrid stretch.

“I feel like everybody sees themselves at the top [of the rotation]. It’s not just me,” Williams said.

The Guardians' offense also struggled on Friday until late. Aaron Civale, who pitched for Cleveland from 2019 until being traded to the Rays in a Deadline deal last season, fired six scoreless innings for the Brewers, who acquired him from Tampa Bay before this season’s Trade Deadline.

“He was commanding the sinker in to lefties and away to righties, but it was all about the cutter tonight,” Vogt said. “He had a really good one. He pitched a great game. He’s a really good Major League pitcher.”

Will Brennan had two hits off Civale as part of a 3-for-4 night overall.

“He was moving around a lot,” Brennan said. “I’ve known him for a couple years, and it’s always fun to face a friend. Good breaking ball. We couldn’t get anything going against him. He executed, and we didn’t.”

Brennan said consistent playing time has led to his improved performance at the plate while hitting in the No. 2 spot in the order between Steven Kwan and José Ramírez.

“It makes you really lock in on those at-bats,” he said. “You know how important it is just to get on base. I kind of like that mentality of giving it for the next guy. That works for my style of play.”

Ramírez belted a two-run homer in the eighth with Brennan aboard to make it 5-2. Ramírez has 32 homers on the season and 100 RBIs. A David Fry solo shot cut the Guardians’ deficit to 5-3.

“He’s incredible,” Vogt said of Ramírez. “We’re sitting here on August 16, and he’s at 100 RBIs already. He’s one of the top players in our game and has been for a long time. It’s been a beautiful year for him.”