NEW YORK -- Guardians right-hander Gavin Williams came just two outs away from ending Cleveland's 44-year no-hitter drought on Wednesday at Citi Field before Juan Soto homered for the Mets' first hit with one out in the ninth inning.
Cleveland hasn't had a no-hitter since Len Barker's perfect game against the Blue Jays on May 15, 1981. It is the longest active no-hitter drought in the Majors. Williams delivered the longest no-hit bid by a Guardians pitcher since Carlos Carrasco lost his chance for history with two outs in the ninth on July 1, 2015, against the Rays.
At first, it looked like center fielder Angel Martínez had a chance to catch the ball hit by Soto, but it went over his glove and hit the batter’s eye for a home run.
“It was close. I tried my best,” Martínez said. “I thought I had a shot, but [the ball] kept going. I wish I could be like Spider-Man and get that ball and pull it back.”
Williams then retired Pete Alonso on a flyout and walked Brandon Nimmo before manager Stephen Vogt pulled him at 126 pitches, the most pitches thrown in MLB this year. Vogt never once thought about taking him out earlier in the game because of the pitch count.
“The velo was still there,” Vogt said. “The stuff was crisp. I didn’t dare ask him how he was feeling. I didn’t talk to [pitching coach Carl Willis] or [associate manager Craig Albernaz] the whole game. With a four-run lead, you have to let him go. You don’t know how many chances these pitchers are going to have to do it. He was going to get the whole way.”
Hunter Gaddis got Mark Vientos to fly out to center to seal Cleveland’s 4-1 win and complete a series sweep of the Mets.
“That was some kind of special, especially how [Williams] started,” Vogt said. “He started more balls than strikes. He was able to pitch his way out of it. It was so impressive for him and then he settled in.
“He and [catcher Austin Hedges] got into a really good rhythm. Heggie called an unbelievable game, but all the credit goes to Gavin, just keeping the Mets off the scoreboard inning after inning. Not letting them get anything going, outside of the early innings. It was that close. I thought he was going to get it.”
Williams has been dealing for the last three months, going 4-2 with a 2.75 ERA (27 earned runs in 88 1/3 innings) over his previous 16 starts entering Wednesday. His ERA during that span was the fourth-lowest mark in the American League.
The right-hander was even better against the Mets in the finale. Other than the four walks he allowed, Williams was able to get 13 ground-ball outs while striking out six batters. It helped that he has added a cutter to his repertoire. Ever since he has added that pitch on May 21, opponents are hitting under .200 against it. But Williams used all of his pitches, including the sweeper, curveball, sinker and four-seamer.
Williams realized he had a no-hitter by the seventh inning. He looked at the scoreboard, saw the zeros and was hoping he wasn’t going to be taken out of the game.
“I got into the eighth and told myself I had to [pitch the no-hitter],” he said.
When he left the game with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Williams was given a standing ovation from the Citi Field crowd.
“It’s nice, especially getting that from a different team’s fan base. It’s awesome,” he said. “It doesn’t usually happen. I appreciate it from them.”
The only time the Mets had runners in scoring position was in the second. The Mets were able to draw two walks, but the runners were left stranded when Luis Torrens flied out to Martínez to end the inning.
New York came close to getting its first hit in the first inning when Francisco Lindor led off and laced a liner that hit Williams’ glove and knocked it off, but Williams managed to recover and throw Lindor out. Two batters later, Alonso hit a liner right at Williams to end the inning. Six innings later, right fielder C.J. Kayfus made a diving catch in right field on a pop fly off the bat of Vientos.
"You've got to give him credit,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said about Williams. “Obviously he was really good today, using all of his pitches. But we also know that we're better than that. [The hitters] know they're better than that. We just couldn't make any adjustments. A lot of empty at-bats there."
The Guardians gave Williams all the runs he needed by the third inning. In the second, with Mets left-hander David Peterson on the mound, David Fry gave Cleveland a 1-0 lead by hitting his sixth home run of the season.
An inning later, Martínez gave the Guardians a three-run lead by hitting a two-run homer. Cleveland then added to the lead three innings later, when Carlos Santana scored on a triple by Gabriel Arias.
“David was just tremendous in that spot and getting us on the board early,” Vogt said. “Peterson is really having a great year -- and for Angel, too, to clip Peterson just to give us that cushion and let Gavin attack. The huge fourth run -- Carlos works a great walk. He runs from first to home. Gabby with a great at-bat.”
The Guardians have won 19 of 26 games since July 7 and have climbed to within 1 1/2 games of the third American League Wild Card spot and are just six games behind the Tigers in the AL Central.
“I’m just proud of the way our players played this week,” Vogt said. “Our team shows up and wants to win every day. It’s not easy to come to New York and win three games. I’m proud of the way we played, but today was about Gavin Williams.”