Cleveland Guardians right-hander Gavin Williams will start Game 3 of the American League Championship Series against the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday, the club announced. Williams will face Rays right-hander Griffin Jax. Williams threw 11⅔ innings over three appearances in the AL Division Series against the Chicago White Sox, including 12 strikeouts over 5⅔ innings in Game 5 as Cleveland rallied from an 0-2 deficit to advance.
Williams said his workload felt normal. "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. "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.
The start time for Game 3 moved up from 6 p.m. to 1 p.m. ET because of rain in the forecast for Northeast Ohio. The change could help Williams, who posted a 2.42 ERA in day starts during the regular season compared with a 4.82 ERA in night starts. He finished the regular season with a 3.76 ERA and an AL-leading 248 strikeouts over 32 starts.
Jax, 31, will make his first career postseason start after a single two-inning relief appearance in the ALDS against the New York Yankees. He compiled a 3.14 ERA in 23 starts this season after the Rays acquired him from the Minnesota Twins at the trade deadline last year. Rays manager Kevin Cash praised his transition to the rotation, saying, "What we like is what he's done as a starter for us all season long."
Source: ESPN MLB · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing