Guardians 6, Blue Jays 1: Williams Strikes Out 13

Thirteen strikeouts. One unearned run. Three homers behind him.

September 1, 2026 – Cleveland – Gavin Williams threw seven innings, two hits, one unearned run, one walk, 13 strikeouts. The Cleveland Guardians beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-1 at Progressive Field.

Toronto's run scored in the fifth after a throwing error. Williams did not allow an earned run. The homers belonged to Patrick Bailey, Angel Genao, and Angel Martínez.

Scoreless until the fifth, then Bailey went first

The first four innings were zeros. Spencer Arrighetti had the baseball for Toronto's middle. He lasted 3 2/3 innings, two hits, two runs, one walk, two strikeouts, and Bailey's homer.

Bailey went deep in the fifth, his eighth, scoring Martínez. 2-0. Toronto had already pushed across the unearned run in the top half. Kazuma Okamoto singled. A walk and a throwing error from Bailey put traffic on. Williams struck out the next man and got a groundout. The run still counted. It was unearned. The inning ended 2-1, Cleveland.

Genao homered in the seventh, his second, scoring Martínez again. Joe Mantiply was on the mound. Martínez then homered in the eighth, his 14th, scoring Petey Halpin off Michael Lorenzen. 6-1.

Martínez finished 2-for-3 with a walk, three runs, a homer, and two RBI. He scored in front of every Cleveland homer except his own, and then he hit his own. Bailey and Genao each drove in two. Jo Adell had two hits. Steven Kwan and Jose Ramirez each singled once and did not need to do more.

Williams, then Gaddis, then Festa

Williams's 13 strikeouts sat next to two hits. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singled. Alejandro Kirk singled. That was Toronto's hit column against him. Hunter Gaddis threw a scoreless eighth with a strikeout. Matt Festa finished the ninth.

Arrighetti took the loss. Toronto used Spencer Miles and Ricky Tiedemann for a scoreless inning each before Arrighetti entered. The plan lasted until Bailey's fifth. It did not last through Genao and Martínez.

A 6-1 home win with 13 strikeouts is a starter's night. The three homers just made sure nobody had to ask the bullpen for six outs of stress.

AthX Engine put Williams first on the whole slate

AthX Engine scored Williams at 35 pitching fantasy points, first among every pitcher who threw on September 1. Cleveland finished at 14 team fantasy points. Martínez had 9 hitting fantasy points. Toronto finished at minus-5.

Thirteen strikeouts in seven innings will lead a pitcher board even on a 15-game Tuesday. Minnesota's 15-2 still led teams. Williams still led arms.

What's next

Cleveland got a complete-looking start without needing nine innings. Toronto got two hits off Williams and one unearned run. Guerrero's single is not a series story. Williams's 13 strikeouts are.

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*Sources: MLB Gameday, MLB schedule, AthX Engine scoring. Information only; not financial advice.*