Gavin Williams gave the Cleveland Guardians everything he had in the tank.
But a dialed-in Chicago White Sox lineup made him work.
On Monday, Sept. 14, the Guardians played host to the White Sox from Progressive Field, kicking off a crucial three-game home series between the two sides. The top spot in the American League Central is on the line this week, and each swing of a contest is going to matter for postseason positioning.
The Guardians fell, 7-3, as the offense combined for seven hits, all while the White Sox generated plenty more traffic on the base paths.
“This team hasn’t let one loss get them down yet,” manager Stephen Vogt said postgame. “I don’t expect that to happen now. We are going to be ready to go tomorrow.”
Williams ended up getting through five frames, giving up four hits, two runs, one earned and three walks along the way. There wasn’t a lot of damage done while he was on the bump, but it led to the bullpen having to enter earlier than expected, mainly due to his pitch count rising to 113.
“Just trying to find the right thing,” Williams said about finding an early rhythm. “Obviously, I could have probably done more than what I did, but it is what it is.”
Just before he was relieved by lefty Tim Herrin in the sixth inning, the 27-year-old was worked by Triston Peters, who drew an 18-pitch walk.
That mini-spark led to six runs being hung on the board that inning.
“We got ourselves into trouble in that inning, and they took advantage of it,” Vogt said.
Herrin ended up allowing three hits and three earned runs in 0.2 innings before rookie Daniel Espino entered and gave up a solo home run.
The Guardians’ offense would score their first run of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning, with the contest out of reach by that point.
Pinch-hitting utility David Fry joined the fun in the bottom of the ninth, smashing a two-run no-doubter to deep left field, giving the Guardians at least a bit of energy heading into Tuesday’s series continuation.
The Guardians will look to turn things back around and return to winning ways on Tuesday night at 6:40 p.m. EST, when they meet right back up with the White Sox.
“Every game is big,” Williams said following Monday’s loss. “Doesn’t matter if it’s number one or 162. Every game matters.”
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleÂ
