Gavin Williams' immaculate inning is a product of a recent trend for the Cleveland Guardians pitcher.
Stephen Vogt has said it ever since he took over as the Cleveland Guardians' manager: when Gavin Williams throws strikes, he's virtually unhittable.
Consistency and staying in the zone have been a challenge for Williams throughout his career and at times during the 2026 season.
However, he's in one of his best stretches on the mound right now, and making franchise history for how he's been able to get batters to swing and miss at his pitches.
On Thursday afternoon, Williams threw seven near-perfect innings against the Minnesota Twins. He only gave up two hits, didn't issue a walk, and struck out 11 batters, despite Cleveland's loss.
During this dominant start, Williams also threw the first immaculate inning (nine pitches and nine strikes) by a Cleveland pitcher since Enyel De Los Santos in 2022.
It's a rare and uncommon accomplishment for a pitcher, but it just goes to show how locked in they are in the zone on a given day.
Williams did point out after the game that, even though he didn't realize he threw one at the time, this immaculate inning is evidence of the growth and work he's put in since last year's command issues.
"After I was throwing the ball last year, all of the walks and stuff, that probably never would have happened, but definitely pretty cool," the pitcher said.
Jul 23, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians pitcher Gavin Williams (32) celebrates during the seventh inning against the Minnesota Twins at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn ImagesWilliams also said that, as far as he can remember, this is the first time he's ever thrown an immaculate inning during his baseball career.
On top of this immaculate inning, what really stands out from Williams' start, though, was his 11 punch outs.
Williams has now struck out 11 batters in his last three starts, which is the longest stretch since Shane Bieber accomplished the same feat back during the 2021 season.
He is also the first pitcher in franchise history to have consecutive starts with 11 or more strikeouts without issuing a walk.
"I think this year I've taken a step forward, throwing a lot more strikes, obviously. I'm gonna keep trying to do that, pushing forward, but there's a lot of things paying off," Williams continued.
Cleveland needs Williams to remain at this caliber of pitcher for the rest of the season for the Guardians to get back to the playoffs for the third consecutive season.
