Williams (elbow) struck out four and allowed one earned run on four hits and no walks across five innings in his rehab start Friday with Triple-A Columbus.
Making the fifth start of his rehab assignment, Williams delivered his longest outing yet in terms of both innings and pitches (66, 47 strikes). A decision on Williams' next step hasn't been decided, but the Guardians may want to see him get over the 70-pitch mark with one more rehab start during the upcoming week before he makes his long-awaited return from the 60-day injured list. The young right-hander has been on the shelf all season with elbow discomfort, an injury that stemmed from him making an awkward throw during a weighted-ball workout in spring training.