Diamondbacks unable to get to Gavin Williams ahead of rain delay in disjointed loss to Guardians

CLEVELAND (AP) — Gavin Williams allowed one hit in 5.2 innings and struck out 10, Chase DeLauter drove in three runs and the Cleveland Guardians defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-0 Sunday to avoid being swept in a weekend series.

Patrick Bailey snapped an 0-for-13 skid with a home run in the second inning off Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly (8-9).

Williams (11-6) retired the first 15 batters he faced before Tim Tawa led off the sixth with a base hit to right. Tawa tried to bunt on the previous pitch but fouled it off, which drew plenty of criticism from the Guardians.

When the tarp came out with two outs in the sixth inning, Guardians manager Stephen Vogt and third-base coach Rouglas Odor charged from the dugout and began exchanging words with Diamondbacks players and coaches. The benches emptied for both teams, but calm was restored a couple minutes later.

The game resumed after an hour, 34-minute rain delay.

Arizona had the bases loaded in the sixth and ninth innings but couldn’t get any runs.

Williams has double-digit strikeouts in five straight games, the longest run by a Cleveland pitcher since Shane Bieber had a six-game run in 2020-21. Williams has eight games with at least 10 strikeouts this season, which leads the American League.

The right-hander struck out six of the first nine hitters he faced, including five straight in the second and third innings.

DeLauter lined a RBI single up the middle in the second to extend Cleveland’s lead to 2-0. The rookie right fielder then had a two-run double in the fifth to make it 4-0. DeLauter scored on Kyle Manzardo’s base hit.

Kelly allowed five runs on eight hits and struck out five in five innings.

With the loss and the Phillies’ win on Sunday, the Diamondbacks are tied with Philadelphia for the final two National League Wild Card spots.

Arizona finished its 10-game road trip leading into the Monday trade deadline 6-4 and 14-6 over its last 20 games. The deadline is 3 p.m. MST on Monday before the Diamondbacks begin a four-game home series against the San Diego Padres at 6:40 p.m.

Brandon Pfaadt will take the mound for the D-backs with the team having won his last six starts since returning from Triple-A Reno, as the right-hander has a 1.85 ERA across 34 innings.

Catch the action on the Arizona Sports app or 98.7.

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