Gavin Williams, Brayan Rocchio help Guardians bounce back from disappointing defeat to Orioles

CLEVELAND — It took a bit, but it was well worth the wait for right-hander Gavin Williams and the Guardians at Progressive Field on Saturday night. Held hitless through the first four innings, Cleveland broke through in the fifth on a home run from No. 9 hitter Brayan Rocchio to back a sparkling outing from Williams in a 4-2 win over the Orioles. It was a bounce back victory for the Guardians, who blew a 4-0 lead Friday en route to a 6-4 loss. Decisive homers from the last hitter are rare, but Rocchio located a 2-2 fastball from Orioles starter Dean Kremer and drove it over the right-field wall for a three-run shot. "That's my home," Rocchio said of the ninth spot in the order. "When I come up my first time, that's the only part of the night I hit there. I have (leadoff man Steven Kwan) behind me and Bo (Naylor) in front of me. I feel pretty comfortable there. "It felt great, but I want to give credit to Williams — (seven) innings, one run." Williams helped Cleveland to its third win in seven games, allowing only a run on three hits while recording his sixth career double-digit strikeout total (11) and second of the season. "That's as good of a mix that we've seen from him," manager Stephen Vogt said. "I felt like he pitched with his spin tonight and really surprised them with fastballs. That was unbelievable, just a great job of being efficient. "He was filling up the zone. He was getting ahead. I don't think there were many three-ball counts, had a lot of punch outs, which usually means higher pitch count. But that wasn't the case tonight. He was finishing guys right away." Williams walked only one after entering the outing with 16 over his first four starts. "I know the walk rate's been up a little bit. We're trying to cut that down," he said. "Tonight, the delivery was the best it's been all year, the best it's felt. First-pitch strikes are a big thing. Win the 0-0, win the 0-1 and if I get to 1-1, win the 1-1. Those are the three biggest things I gotta do. If I can win those counts, everything opens up for me." Williams is the first pitcher in the majors to reach 40 strikeouts. "That's not the biggest goal for me," he said of his league-leading total. "I'm just trying to help the team win games. Any way possible to do that, that's what I'm gonna do. It's cool, but I don't think it's necessary I have to punch that many people out. I'm just trying to win games." The right-hander opened his outing with three scoreless innings before Leody Taveras took him deep for the game's first run with one out in the fourth. Williams retired the last 11 he faced after the homer. "Gavin's a hard worker and he wants to be great. That's a dangerous combination," Vogt said. The Guardians, who came three outs from a no-hitter with Parker Messick on the mound in the series opener Thursday night, only had one baserunner through the first four innings against Kremer. Daniel Schneemann, who had a grand slam in Friday's 6-4 loss, got the first hit with one out in the fifth to put two aboard, and two batters later Rocchio hit the go-ahead homer. "He's growing into a big leaguer," Vogt said of Rocchio. "Man, he's had some big at-bats for us this year. It was a fun night for him." After Hunter Gaddis allowed a solo homer to Gunnar Henderson in the eighth, Bo Naylor hit his first homer — a towering drive to right that returned the two-run advantage for closer Cade Smith in the ninth. The struggling Smith was smooth, striking out the side on 14 pitches to convert his fifth save in seven tries. "(Smith) was relaxed tonight," Vogt said. "As soon as he came in and he was throwing his warmups on the mound, I was like, 'Cade looks relaxed.' He made some slight adjustments with the pitching team, but that was as good as we've seen him. The split was there, locating the fastball at the top, really a good night for Cade." Contact Chris Assenheimer at (440) 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter @CAwesomeheimer.