Guardians to Start Gavin Williams in Deciding ALDS Game 5 Against White Sox

Gavin Williams will start Saturday's winner-take-all Game 5 for Cleveland after throwing 18 pitches to secure the Game 4 victory.

Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt announced that right-hander Gavin Williams will start Saturday’s winner-take-all Game 5 of the American League Division Series. Williams, 27, earned the start after throwing 18 pitches in relief of Cade Smith on Thursday to secure the Game 4 victory. This follows his Game 2 start where he threw 98 pitches over five innings of work.

Chicago White Sox manager Will Venable will counter with right-hander Sean Burke. Unlike Game 2, where Burke pitched 5⅓ innings following an opener, he will start the game on Saturday. Burke was warming up to enter Game 4 if Chicago had tied the score in the ninth inning. The winner of this matchup advances to face the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL Championship Series starting Monday.

Both teams enter the deciding game with heavily utilized bullpens. Cleveland's Cade Smith has appeared in every game of the series, though he struggled during his fourth inning of work across Games 3 and 4. His availability for Saturday remains in question after Vogt noted the team would monitor his recovery. Chicago faces similar depth concerns with right-hander Grant Taylor, who allowed four runs without recording an out in Game 4 and has thrown 67 pitches across three series appearances.