Gavin Williams adds to stellar season with immaculate inning

Cleveland Guardians pitcher Gavin Williams. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Guardians' Gavin Williams adds to stellar season with immaculate inning

By Andrew Wright | Last updated Jul 23, 2026 3:14 PM ET

In a series between the Cleveland Guardians and Minnesota Twins that has been full of home runs and high-octane offenses, it was Cleveland right-hander Gavin Williams that garnered all the attention after his fifth inning performance in Thursday's series finale.

Gavin Williams tosses an immaculate inning

Williams was facing the Minnesota lineup for the third time around entering the top of the fifth inning, but that didn't seem to matter.

With Byron Buxton, Ryan Jeffers and Josh Bell stepping to the plate, Williams delivered nine strikes on nine pitches and struck out the side for an immaculate inning.

It was the second immaculate inning in MLB this season (Mike Soroka) and the first for a Guardians pitcher since Enyel de los Santos did it during the 2022 season.

Gavin goes immaculate!

Our first immaculate inning since September 27, 2022.#GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/J9eK8gIQY4
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) July 23, 2026

Gavin Williams is having an excellent season

While the season ERA of 3.78 doesn't jump off the page at you, Williams is putting together a season that rivals his best full year at the major league level.

Williams has punched out 11 batters in three straight outings and after exiting his start, his season total had reached 156, good for the second most baseball.

Despite an inflated ERA due to a few bad starts, Williams has arguably cemented himself as the ace in a Cleveland rotation that could use some help ahead of the Aug. 3 MLB trade deadline.

Andrew Wright

Andrew "Dew" Wright graduated from Charleston Southern University with a degree in Communication Studies. He is a lifelong Chicago Cubs and Washington Commanders fan.

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