Gavin Williams strikes out six in no-decision

Williams struck out 11 and walked one while throwing 71 percent of his pitches for strikes. He got ahead with his four-seamer and sinker and then had lots of success putting hitters away with a sweeper that had a 26 percent swinging strike rate. Unless Statcast updates its data, this will have been the first start that Williams didn’t use his cutter, which could be why his four-seam usage was up 13 percent. Regardless, he was fully comfortable with his arsenal today and looked great. He gets a tougher matchup against the Pirates after the break.

Williams was solid in this one, keeping the White Sox off the board through the first four innings. In the top of the fifth inning, however, he ran into a bit of trouble. Williams allowed singles to the first two batters he faced in the frame, but retired the next two on a sacrifice fly and a fielder’s choice. With runners on first and third and two outs, Williams nearly escaped the frame, but a three-run homer by Miguel Vargas broke things open for the White Sox in the inning and gave them a 3-1 lead. The game would then go into a rain delay shortly after Vargas’ homer, which ended Williams’ night. He’s now allowed three earned runs or fewer in each of his last three starts and is next scheduled to toe the rubber on Thursday against the Twins.

Williams gave up five hits, walked one and struck out eight. He bounced back after allowing seven runs in his last start against the Brewers. Williams allowed an RBI double to Braden Montgomery in the second inning and an RBI single to Andrew Benintendi in the third inning. His ERA is 3.82. Williams is lined up to face the Mariners at home this weekend.

Williams didn’t have it from the jump. He fell behind 3-1 on Christian Yelich to start this game and then gave up a home run on a curveball that got way too much of the plate. Then, the Brewers rallied for two more runs that inning, another two in the second, and Jackson Chourio hit a demoralizing two-run shot in the fourth. When it was all said and done, those seven runs were the most Williams had ever given up in a major league start and he jumped up from a 3.32 ERA before this start to a 3.83 ERA after it. Looking to put this outing behind him as soon as possible, Williams is scheduled for a two-start week coming up against the White Sox and Mariners.

The game will be made up as part of a split doubleheader on Friday, September 3. Expect Sunday’s scheduled starters — Casey Mize and Gavin Williams — to work for their respective clubs on Monday and Tuesday.

Williams reached 100.4 mph on the gun tonight, and his 98.7-mph average on his fastball was 2.1 mph better than his season norm. Still, it didn’t stop him from giving up two homers, one on a cutter and another on a curve. It would have been nice to see Williams do a little better in consecutive starts against Aaron Judge-less Yankees lineups — he allowed two homers and three earned runs in 5 1/3 innings last time out — but it could have gone worse. He’s still tied for the major league lead with nine wins. He has a 3.95 ERA in his last seven starts after coming in at 2.73 in his first seven. Williams will face the Tigers next.

Williams struck out six and walked one, serving up homers to Jazz Chisholm Jr. and José Caballero along the way. He’s in sole possession of the MLB lead in wins, which isn’t necessarily predictive but matters for rotisserie fantasy formats. The right-hander has increased his sweeper usage this season and is relying on five pitches, each thrown 9% of the time or more. Williams is set for a rematch with the Yankees next time out, this time in Cleveland.

It’s a big showing from Williams after Tanner Bibee and Joey Cantillo combined to give up 11 runs in five innings the previous two days. Williams gave up nine hard-hit balls and struck out just four, but the Nationals never put together a rally, apart from their two doubles in the third. Williams, who opened May by giving up five runs in consecutive losses, has allowed a total of three runs while winning his last three starts. He’ll take a 3.28 ERA into his next start at Yankee Stadium.

Williams and Cristopher Sánchez matched up here in one of the best pitcher’s duels of the season. They each threw eight scoreless innings, but Williams was a touch sharper. His 11 strikeouts matched his season-high and his sweeper was practically un-hittable forcing 10 of his 17 total swings-and-misses. This gem was another message to the league that Williams is a budding ace and his poise after working around a baserunner in each of the seventh and eighth innings in this scoreless affair reaffirmed such. He left this superb outing with a 3.25 ERA, 84 strikeouts, and 22 walks across 69 1/3 innings so far this season. Next up for Williams will be the Nationals at home.

Williams allowed eight hits but didn’t walk anyone, picking up 17 whiffs along the way. One of the runs he surrendered was a third-inning, opposite-field solo blast off the bat of Elly De La Cruz. Williams is sporting the best K-BB percentage of his career, but his HR/FB percentage is the one blemish that leads to his 3.67 ERA. His next start lines up on the road against the Phillies.