DETROIT — Pitch by pitch, foul ball by foul ball, the battle between Gavin Williams and Riley Greene in the first inning on Wednesday continued. Williams’ pitch count rose with each ball Greene sent out of play, and the Guardians risked falling into an early hole.

The Tigers had runners on first and second with two outs when Williams, on his 12th pitch of the at-bat, got Greene to swing through a 3-2 curveball in the dirt to get out of the inning.

“It was exhausting,” Williams said. “He’s a good hitter, but he was fouling off everything. Good pitches, bad pitches. I thought I was about to throw a knuckleball up there or something to get him off of it.”

That sequence in the Guardians’ 4-0 win at Comerica Park provides a snapshot of the growth we have witnessed from Williams this season.

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