Gavin Williams allowed seven hits, four walks, and five runs with five strikeouts over 4 1/3 innings in a loss to the Padres on Friday.
Williams was in trouble from the get-go in this start. The Padres put runners on the corners in each of the first two innings, but he found a way to wriggle out of each jam. Then, Xander Bogaerts finally got his squad on the board in the fourth when he launched a hanging sweeper from Williams for a two-run shot. Chaos followed in the fifth when Williams gave up a home run, two singles, and a walk to the first four batters and was pulled after a two-run double that came shortly thereafter. He struggled to command his fastball as that pitch had just a 39% zone rate and was forced to rely on his breaking stuff more than often. Knowing that, the Padres began to sit on those pitches and made him pay. One of the hottest pitchers in the league entering this start, let’s hope it’s merely a bump in the road. He’s scheduled to face the Giants at home next time out.
