Gavin Williams looks strong as Guardians beat Reds, 8-2, in final spring game in Goodyear

GOODYEAR — Gavin Williams, scheduled to start the second game of the regular season on Friday in Seattle, pitched well Sunday in his last Cactus League start. Williams, backed by homers from Angel Martinez and Kyle Manzardo, allowed one run over five innings in an 8-2 win over the Reds at Goodyear Ballpark. The Guardians, 14-14-1, will play Arizona on Monday and Tuesday at Chase Field before breaking camp and heading for T-Mobile Park in Seattle. “That’s as good an outing as we’ve seen from Gavin this spring,” said manager Stephen Vogt. “He threw a lot of strikes. He was in a lot of good counts and got a lot of swing and miss.” Vogt said Williams, who struck out three in 64 pitches, only went five innings for a reason. “In this last time through the rotation, we’re backing the pitch count off to prepare for their next start,” said Vogt. Williams threw 67% (42 of 64) of his pitches for strikes. He also picked off Spencer Steer at first base in the first inning. In five starts this spring, he went 2-1 with a 4.59 ERA. He struck out 19 and walked four in 17 2/3 innings. The Guardians struck early to take a 5-1 lead after two innings. They were aided when Reds left-hander Nick Lodolo left in the first inning with a blister on the index finger of pitching hand. Steven Kwan opened the game with a walk and Martinez followed with a homer for a 2-0 lead. It was Martinez’s fourth homer of the spring, tying Jose Ramirez for the team lead. Bo Naylor made it 3-0 with a two-out single that scored Rhys Hoskins. Noeli Marte cut Cleveland’s lead to 3-1 with a two-out homer off Gavin Williams in the second. It was Marte’s second homer of the spring against the Guardians. The Guardians stretched the lead to 5-1 with consecutive two-out singles by Hoskins and Chase DeLauter. Hoskins was making his fourth start of the spring at first base, while DeLauter drove in his first of two runs in the game. Manzardo’s homer in the third made it 6-1. It was Manzardo’s third homer of the spring and gave him 11 RBI. It has been a tough spring for Manzardo. He’s hitting .163 (8 for 49) in 17 games. He was hitting eighth because the Reds started the left-handed Lodolo. Vogt said Manzardo will hit fourth behind Jose Ramirez when the Guardians face a right-hander. “Today he checked every box,” said Vogt. “He hit the ball to left field (line drive out, second inning). He hit the homer to center and showed a really good two-strike approach on the line drive to center (caught by the shortstop in the fifth inning). “Manzo is peaking at the right time. It’s not about results in spring training. He was working on things early but we really like where Kyle is right now.” Martinez is hitting .350 (14 for 46) with four homers and six RBI in 16 games this spring. “Angel had an incredible spring,” said Vogt. “We saw a lot of growth from Angel this spring. He had a great offseason.” Martinez, a converted infielder, is expected to bounce between left and center field this year. DeLauter, hitting fifth Sunday, went 2 for 2 with two RBI. He walked in the first inning and added an RBI single and RBI double in the second and fourth innings, respectively. He’s hitting .429 (15 for 35) with one homer and eight RBI in 13 games this spring. In the competition for the final two roster spots, Stuart Fairchild went 1 for 2 with a double as he entered the game as a defensive replacement in center field. Fairchild and CJ Kayfus are competing for the last position player spot on Cleveland’s opening night roster. Pitching-wise, lefty Kolby Allard threw a scoreless ninth. Allard, a spring-training invitee like Fairchild, is trying to win the final spot in the bullpen. RHP Slade Cecconi (2-1, 2.13) will face Arizona on Monday at Chase Field at 9:40 p.m. The Diamondbacks have not announced a starter.