Set the tone: Williams' 11 K's help Guardians get flying 2nd-half start

CLEVELAND -- Gavin Williams described his personal first-half performance as “difficult” after his July 11 start against the White Sox. It was an understandable assessment; the big right-hander had flashes of brilliance mixed with frustrating stretches marked by command issues.

“The first half wasn’t really what I wanted it to be,” Williams said Sunday. “I walked a lot of people and just was behind a lot in the first half. Hopefully, I'm going to turn that around in the second half.”

He’s off to a good start. Williams struck out 11 hitters (a new season high) over seven innings (matching his career high), and he issued just one walk as he led the Guardians to an 8-2 win over the A’s on Sunday afternoon at Progressive Field in the rubber match of a three-game series.

The Guardians (48-50) are looking to take advantage of a favorable schedule coming out of the All-Star break to stay in the postseason picture. Guys such as Williams and David Fry -- who had a tough first half but went 2-for-5 with a career-high four RBIs on Sunday -- figure to loom large.

Williams walked 57 batters before the break (the most in the Majors), while recording a 3.70 ERA in 97 1/3 innings over 19 starts. He set the tone from the get-go on Sunday; the 25-year-old snapped off an 86 mph sweeper to Lawrence Butler in the first inning, and the A’s leadoff man took it for a called strike three.

Williams then struck out the side in the second inning, getting Brent Rooker, Shea Langeliers and Tyler Soderstrom swinging. It all kickstarted his third career double-digit-strikeout game and his first since Aug. 12, 2023, against the Rays.

“That was outstanding,” manager Stephen Vogt said of Williams’ outing. “[He threw] strikes, pounded the zone, went right after guys.”

That has continued to be one of the major keys for Williams, and by his own assessment, he was guilty of nibbling at times before the break, “especially against Chicago,” last week, he noted Sunday.

“I was nibbling way too much and trying to hit the outer half [of the plate], when I can just throw it in the zone,” Williams said. “Giving up weak contact would be way better than a walk.”

Williams has the stuff to strike guys out and get weak contact when he executes and throws strikes. The A’s average exit velocity against him Sunday was 84.0 mph, which is the third lowest against Williams this season.

Fry, meanwhile, slashed just .149/.219/.299 in 31 games before the break. The 29-year-old did not make his season debut until June 1 due to his recovery from Tommy John surgery in November, and it has been a process for him to get going offensively. That process came amid limited playing time.

Fry recorded 73 plate appearances in the first half (which largely came against left-handed pitchers), as he is limited to DH duties while he continues his throwing rehab.

Getting Fry going is crucial for Cleveland, which struggled against lefties in the first half. The Guardians’ 85 wRC+ against southpaws ranked 26th in the Majors.

“It's been tough,” Fry said of his progression at the plate this season. “Obviously, I haven't played the way I want to, [haven’t been] helping the boys out as much as I would like. But it's part of it. Baseball is really, really hard. You’ve got to put in the work every day and just have the faith that results are going to come, and just try to be as good of a teammate as [you] can be.

“And then when situations like today come up, hopefully continue to help the boys out.”

Fry started the series finale against left-hander Jeffrey Springs, and he made an early impact to back Williams. He hit an RBI single in the first, which drove home Angel Martínez after his leadoff double.

In the third, Fry knocked a three-run double down the third-base line to extend Cleveland's lead to 5-0. Sunday’s performance came after Fry went 1-for-4 on Friday with a two-run blast off lefty JP Sears.

“David Fry is one of our best hitters,” Vogt said. “We know that, and sometimes getting that four-day break to kind of relax and take a breather [helps], and you come back ready to rock, and then two lefties right out of the gate. That can get you going. So great weekend for David.”

And it was a great weekend for the Guardians, who will welcome the Orioles to town Monday for a four-game set.