Guardians Turn to Ace Gavin Williams for Pivotal ALCS Game 3 as Series Returns to Cleveland

Cleveland will hand the ball to AL strikeout leader Gavin Williams — fresh off a record-setting ALDS — for Thursday's pivotal Game 3 against Tampa Bay, with the ALCS tied 1-1 and the Rays countering with Griffin Jax at 1:10 p.m. ET in a weather-moved matinee.

Guardians Turn to Ace Gavin Williams for Pivotal ALCS Game 3 as Series Returns to Cleveland

The Cleveland Guardians are going with their ace when the American League Championship Series resumes on Thursday, announcing that Gavin Williams will start Game 3 against the Tampa Bay Rays at Progressive Field.

Williams, 27, was Cleveland's hero in the Division Series against the Chicago White Sox, throwing 210 pitches across three appearances in six days. He worked five innings in Game 2, came out of the bullpen in Game 4, and then struck out 12 in 5⅔ innings to win the decisive Game 5 — tying the franchise postseason record and ranking among the most dominant pitching performances in playoff history. His 24 strikeouts in the series are tied for the second-most ever in a playoff series, and his 248 strikeouts led the American League in the regular season.

The Guardians deliberately waited to name their Game 3 starter until Williams threw a bullpen in Tampa Bay on Tuesday. "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," president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said. Williams brushed aside any concern: "Body feels good. Arm feels good. And going to go out there tomorrow."

The Rays will counter with right-hander Griffin Jax (8-10, 3.28 ERA). The series is tied 1-1 after Cleveland's 7-3 win in Monday's opener and Tampa Bay's 3-1 Game 2 victory. First pitch has been moved up five hours to 1:10 p.m. ET because of rain in the Cleveland forecast — a shift that could quietly favor Williams, who posted a 2.42 ERA in 13 day starts this season compared with 4.82 in 19 night outings.