Gavin Williams, Guardians complete sweep of A's with 1-0 victory in home finale

CLEVELAND — The Guardians played their final home game of the regular season Sunday afternoon, but they took another step to ensuring it won't be the last time fans at Progressive Field get to see them play this year. Thanks in large part to another dominating performance from right-hander Gavin Williams, Cleveland maintained at least a one-game lead in the Central Division with a sweep-clinching 1-0 victory over the Athletics. The Guardians hit the road for their final six games firmly in control of their own destiny. "Obviously we try to preach that every game is important from the beginning of the year to now, but these last three (against the A's) were really, really important," Steven Kwan said. The win was Cleveland's fifth straight at home, bumping its record at Progressive Field a game over .500 (41-40). The Guardians drew over two million fans for the third straight season, the first time they've accomplished as much since 2000-02. "It's pretty cool to finish with a winning record and doing it by winning five in a row at the end," manager Stephen Vogt said. "We love playing at home. We love the fans and thank them again for an unbelievable season. We had a ton of people show up to support us all summer long and just can't thank them enough for that. We feel their presence. We feel their energy. So, to finish with a winning record at home, it's pretty special." Those in attendance witnessed Williams at his best. He allowed only three hits and struck out nine over seven scoreless innings. Williams whiffed the side in the first before allowing consecutive singles to start the second. He retired 13 straight from there until a one-out single from Henry Bolte in the sixth. Then he picked off Bolte. "That was unbelievable. He was efficient, got punchouts," Vogt said. "He got into trouble a little bit in the second, pitched his way out of that. Takes the ball, seven strong, did his job. He was outstanding yet again today." "To be honest, it's kind of boring in a good way," Kwan said. "You can kind of see the panic in a lot of hitters because they have to cover a bunch of shapes and pitches. I think that's what he does best, makes hitters feel real uncomfortable." Williams — 6-foot-6, 250 pounds — ranks third in the majors with five pickoffs. "I feel like I got a good move. I feel like people underestimate me," Williams said. "I'm a bigger guy and they don't think I can move that well." He is tied with Milwaukee's Jacob Misiorowski for the major league lead with 244 strikeouts in 31 starts (181 innings). "When I throw the ball over the plate, I have a good chance of doing a lot of good things and that was my biggest goal this year," Williams said. Cleveland's lone run came on a swinging bunt from Jo Adell that scored Jose Ramirez in the fourth. A's catcher Jonah Heim's throw to first hit Adell, who was running on the inside of the baseline. A's manager Mark Kotsay was ejected for arguing that Adell interfered with the throw. Ramirez and Kwan combined for five of the Guardians' seven hits. Vogt called on closer Cade Smith to get the four-out save after right-hander Hunter Gaddis allowed consecutive one-out hits in the eighth before striking out pinch hitter Carlos Cortes. Smith, who reached 100 strikeouts for the third straight season Friday night, struck out Bolte on three pitches to end the eighth before retiring three of four in the ninth — two on strikeouts. In his first season as the fulltime closer, Smith has rarely faltered, earning the utmost confidence from his teammates, including Kwan, who was asked if there was anyone he trusted more. "I have to say my wife, but he's a close second," Kwan joked. "It's very comforting when he's out there in any kind of role, runners on (base). His demeanor is very calming as well. That's our guy and we're going to ride him." First pitch was delayed for 2 hours and five minutes, but Cleveland stayed hot once it took the field. Now, with a week left in the regular season, the Guardians hit the road a confidence bunch eyeing their third straight division title. "I think the feeling in the clubhouse is pretty awesome right now," Smith said. "I think we got some momentum. We've got confidence in the way we're playing. We're playing clean baseball. I think there's this kind of calm focus that we're ready to go out there and play. We're looking forward to taking it one game at a time and finishing strong and setting us up for the postseason." "A lot of us have been here. We're not stressing over anything," Williams said. "We know what to do. We all have jobs and that's what we're doing. Everybody's doing their job the right way." Contact Chris Assenheimer at (440) 329-7136or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him @CAwesomeheimer on X.