Gavin Williams put together one of the best 5 start stretches in MLB history

[Raven]

Cleveland Guardians right hander Gavin Williams just put together one of the most dominant five start stretches in modern MLB history, striking out 55 hitters across those starts from July 9 through August 2 while walking only 3 batters the entire time. That kind of strikeout to walk ratio over a five start span has only been matched by six other pitchers since at least 1901, which puts Williams in genuinely rare company regardless of era

On the strikeout total alone, only six pitchers this decade have hit 55 or more punchouts in a five start window, including names like Jacob deGrom, Shane Bieber, Shohei Ohtani, Zack Wheeler, Robbie Ray and Blake Snell, who was the last to do it back in 2024. Combining that volume of strikeouts with almost no walks is what really separates this stretch from a normal hot run

What makes it more interesting is how much Williams has actually improved his control this season. His walk rate has jumped from the 7th percentile in MLB last year all the way up to the 69th percentile now, and that turnaround reportedly comes from reworking his two seam fastball to be easier to command along with a revitalized four seamer that has added another weapon to his arsenal

Through 23 starts this year Williams sits at a 3.56 ERA with 178 strikeouts, trailing only Jacob Misiorowski for the MLB lead in that category, which is a pretty big leap for a pitcher who was still searching for his best pitch mix just a couple seasons ago

The Guardians have not exactly rewarded him with much run support during this stretch either, so his win loss record does not fully reflect just how dominant he has actually been lately

Guardians Gavin Williams Historic Stretchwww.mlb.com

[SilverSurfer51]

55 strikeouts and only 3 walks over five starts is absurd, the strikeout number alone is impressive but pairing it with that little control is what makes this genuinely historic

[CodyRhodes99]

Going from 7th percentile walk rate to 69th percentile in a single season is the real story here, that kind of command improvement almost never happens this fast for a starter

[Q]

178 strikeouts through 23 starts puts him in serious Cy Young conversation territory if the Guardians can find a way to support him with more wins down the stretch

[Aquaman]

Six pitchers since 1901 matching this exact combination of strikeouts and walks over five starts is a stat that really puts into perspective how rare this run actually is

[Jackson77]

Curious what his stuff actually looks like on video during this stretch, a jump like this usually comes with some visible change in velocity or shape on his pitches

[Callum28]

Cleveland's pitching development has quietly been one of the best in baseball for years now, Williams looks like the latest example of that pipeline working as intended

[Sequence48]

Reworking a fastball grip mid career and getting results this quickly is not something you see often, usually mechanical changes take a while to show up in actual production

[Zach]

Wonder how sustainable this specific stretch is or if it is more of a hot streak that regresses toward his season averages once hitters adjust to the retooled fastball

[Phoebe37]

The list of names who have matched this feat this decade, deGrom, Bieber, Ohtani, Wheeler, Ray, Snell, is basically a who's who of elite starting pitching, good company to be in

[Bayley_Contender]

The walk rate jump from last year to this year is the stat that should get more attention, strikeouts get the highlight reels but command like that is what actually separates good from great

[FinnBalor99]

Crazy that a pitcher can put up numbers like this and still not have great run support to show for it in his win loss record, that has to be frustrating to watch as a Guardians fan