How did Gavin Williams get injured? Guardians talented pitcher exits game vs Twins after just one inning

Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Gavin Williams left the game against the Minnesota Twins after pitching only one inning. He came up awkwardly after the fifth pitch of the inning, and went on to pitch another 25 before recording three outs. Williams has started 12 games so for this season, which included his MLB debut.

A leg injury can have a dramatic effect on a pitchers ability, so hopefully this will turn out to be a short-term issue. If it is not, it will put a damper on what has been a very successful rookie campaign. His 3.52 ERA is an excellent mark for any pitcher, even factoring in the small sample size.

Bobby Nightengale of the Star Tribune reported on the injury and when the inital injury happened.

"Gavin Williams exited after his 30-pitch first inning because of right knee soreness, the Guardians announced. He stumbled off the mound on his fifth pitch of the night" - Bobby Nightengale

Williams has been an unexpectedly solid for the Guardians this season, even though his record doesn't indicate that. He is officially 1-5 so far, but not through a lack of effort.

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The Cleveland Guardians will need Gavin Williams back for their playoff push

The Guardians still have an outside shot of making the postseason in 2023, but they will need to be good and they will need to be lucky. Part of that luck will now include Williams avoiding missing more than one start. If he can, they may be able to steal the division away from the Twins.

He is receiving praise from around the league, including the Pitching Ninja on Twitter.

"Gavin Williams has an incredibly high ceiling, but I’m not sure if Eury even has a ceiling" - Rob Friedman

Rookie pitchers are often not relied on as heavily, but he seems to be up to the task.