Athletics at Cleveland Guardians

Gavin Williams (13-8, 3.65 ERA entering the day) took the mound against Jack Perkins (3-11, 5.95 ERA) in a Sunday matinee at Progressive Field, and neither number told the truth about how either arm would throw. Williams turned in 7 shutout innings with 9 strikeouts on just 1 walk, the sharpest turn of his season and a full reversal from the 113-pitch grind that capped his previous start.

FINAL

Spread

WIN

Total

Athletics

(61-94)

LLLLL

0

+1.5-111+204o7.5+117

Guardians

(80-75)

WWWWL

1

-1.5-106-245u7.5-138

1st pitch69°

Gavin Williams outpitched a game Jack Perkins in a 1-0 Cleveland win, capping a 3-game sweep of Oakland. An Adell infield single in the 4th plated the only run of the afternoon, and Cade Smith needed just 1.1 innings to lock it down.

Athletics

• +Perkins allowed just 1 run over 6 innings, 4 K's
• +Kept a strong Cleveland lineup off the board most of the day
• −Lost 6th straight, shut out on the scoreboard
• −0-for-5 with runners in scoring position

Guardians

• +Williams: 7 IP, 0 ER, 9 K's, best start of the year
• +Cade Smith closed it clean, 3 K's in 1.1 innings
• +Swept the season series with the win
• −Offense managed just 1 run on 7 hits
• −Rocchio (leg) missing from the lineup

Perkins matched him for most of the afternoon, working 6 innings and allowing only 1 earned run, a continuation of the form he'd shown his last time out even if his record still doesn't show it. Cleveland's lineup didn't do much with it, scratching across its only run in the 4th on an Adell infield single that brought home Ramírez, and the board's lean toward the home side held up even with the offense that quiet.

Jack Perkins

(3-12)·5.90 ERA

Sep 15 @ Rays

ND

6.2IP

0ER

8K

1BB

83P

09/20 Lineup

Gavin Williams

(14-8)·3.63 ERA

Sep 14 vs White Sox

L

5.0IP

2ER

7K

3BB

113P

09/20 Lineup

That's about as thin a margin as a heavy favorite can win by, and it left Cleveland's bullpen with almost nothing to do. Colin Holderman and Shawn Armstrong stayed sidelined, and Cade Smith needed just 1.1 innings and 3 strikeouts to finish it off instead of the taxed relief corps the week's schedule had set up.

The result closed out a 3-game sweep for Cleveland, its 6th straight win, and left a club that sat 11 games back of Detroit early this month in sole possession of the AL Central. Oakland finished the set winless, its 6th loss in a row, with an offense that went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and never found the barrel against Williams.

Athletics

(61-94)

09/19L@Guardians6-12

09/18L@Guardians3-5

09/17L@Rays1-10

09/16L@Rays3-4

09/15L@Rays1-2

Cleveland Guardians

(80-75)

09/19WvsAthletics12-6

09/18WvsAthletics5-3

09/16WvsWhite Sox6-3

09/15WvsWhite Sox7-6

09/14LvsWhite Sox3-7

Perkins' shutdown-caliber stuff wasn't enough against a lineup missing Brayan Rocchio, who sat out with a leg issue, and an Oakland roster already down 2 of its best hitters for the year. Cleveland didn't need to solve him twice; one mistake was the difference.

Athletics

(12)

• 15-Day-ILGage Jump (SP) — The Athletics placed Jump on the 15-day injured list Tuesday, retroactive to Sept. 13, due to a left shoulder impingement.09/15
• 15-Day-ILJ.T. Ginn (SP) — Ginn (elbow) is behind schedule in his recovery program and could miss the rest of the 2026 season, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.09/11
• 60-Day-ILJoshua Kuroda-Grauer (3B) — Kuroda-Grauer (groin) went 0-for-3 in a rehab game with Triple-A Las Vegas on Friday.09/19
• 60-Day-ILBrooks Kriske (RP) — The Athletics announced that Kriske underwent season-ending surgery Sept. 1 to address a right shoulder impingement, MLB.com reports.09/17
• 60-Day-ILBrent Rooker (DH) — Rooker (knee) was cleared to begin a hitting progression Wednesday, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.09/16
• 60-Day-ILNick Kurtz (1B) — Kurtz (thumb) began a hitting progression Wednesday, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.09/16
• 60-Day-ILLuis Severino (SP) — Severino (shoulder) logged a bullpen session Saturday and is expected to have a normal offseason, per MLB.com.09/14
• 60-Day-ILJacob Wilson (SS) — Wilson underwent left shoulder labral surgery Wednesday, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.09/11
• 60-Day-ILTyler Soderstrom (LF) — The Athletics transferred Soderstrom (hip) to the 60-day injured list Thursday.08/20
• 60-Day-ILJustin Sterner (RP) — The Athletics transferred Sterner (knee) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Sunday.08/16
• 60-Day-ILMark Leiter Jr. (RP) — Leiter will undergo surgery Tuesday to address a right hip impingement and is expected to miss the remainder of the season, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.07/30
• 60-Day-ILGunnar Hoglund (SP) — Hoglund (knee/back) will be sidelined for the rest of the 2026 season after undergoing surgery on his left hip Monday.05/20

Cleveland Guardians

(4)

• Day-To-DayBrayan Rocchio (SS) — Rocchio (leg) is out of the lineup for Sunday's matchup with the Athletics.09/20
• 10-Day-ILRhys Hoskins (1B) — Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said Friday that Hoskins (back) has begun a swing progression program, MLB.com reports.09/12
• 15-Day-ILColin Holderman (RP) — Holderman was forced to exit Thursday's rehab outing with Triple-A Columbus after aggravating his right wrist injury, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.09/18
• 60-Day-ILShawn Armstrong (RP) — Armstrong (calf) didn't record a strikeout while allowing one run on two hits in one inning during a rehab appearance Friday with Triple-A Columbus.09/12

It's the kind of game a pitching-first team wants to model itself on down the stretch: one big arm, a clean bullpen inning, and just enough offense to make it stand.