Williams to Start Game 3 for Guardians

Heavy Workload for Williams

Cleveland Guardians right-hander Gavin Williams will start Game 3 of the American League Championship Series against the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday. Williams threw 210 pitches over six days against the Chicago White Sox in the previous round.

He threw 11.2 innings over three appearances in that series. He pitched five innings in Game 2, tossed 18 pitches in relief in Game 4, and then struck out 12 batters over 5.2 innings in Game 5. Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said the team wanted to check how Williams responded to that workload before deciding when he would pitch next. Williams threw a bullpen session on Tuesday in Tampa Bay.

Williams said his body and arm feel good. He noted that he felt his recent pitching load was a normal workload, except for throwing in a game instead of a standard bullpen session.

Early Start Time in Tampa

Major League Baseball moved the start time for Game 3 from 6 p.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern Time due to rain forecasts for Northeast Ohio later in the day. This schedule shift could favor Williams based on his regular season numbers. He posted a 4.82 ERA in 19 night starts compared to a 2.42 ERA in 13 day starts.

Williams stated that he follows a routine every day regardless of game times. He mentioned that his warm-up process changes for day games, but the rest of his daily schedule remains the same.

Jax Gets the Ball for Rays

Tampa Bay will counter with right-hander Griffin Jax. Jax has only pitched a single two-inning relief outing in the postseason so far, which came in Game 3 of the AL Division Series against the New York Yankees on seven days of rest. He allowed a run, walked one batter, and struck out four.

Jax expressed excitement about getting the ball. Rays manager Kevin Cash stated that the team has high confidence in Jax because of his performance as a starter throughout the season.