The Cleveland Guardians have their answer for the biggest game of the season so far.
After Saturday’s 7-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays evened the American League Championship Series at two games apiece, Stephen Vogt said Parker Messick will start Game 5 on Sunday at Progressive Field.
“Parker Messick’s gonna start tomorrow. We always had an idea that it might be. We needed to see how things shook out this game, but, obviously, with the amount of pitching the we needed to use, we need Parker to go for us tomorrow,” Vogt said.
Vogt said the Guardians had been weighing that possibility all along, but Saturday’s bullpen-heavy game left the choice in focus. Cleveland used seven pitchers in all, starting with Shawn Armstrong and following with Foster Griffin, who covered 3 2/3 innings on 44 pitches.
Daniel Espino, Tim Herrin, Slade Cecconi, Matt Festa and Joey Cantillo also took the mound. Once Griffin was used in relief, he was off the table to start again, leaving Messick as the clear option.
The move also changes Messick’s schedule. Before Friday’s rainout, he had been set to start Game 6 in Tampa Bay on Monday. Instead, he’ll go on normal rest in front of the home crowd, with Cleveland trying to get within one win of the World Series.
The rookie has already carried a heavy load this season, throwing 198 innings across the regular season and postseason. Even with that workload, he’s been one of the most dependable starters in baseball all year.
He’s also handled the Rays well. In three starts against Tampa Bay this season, Messick has given up just two earned runs in 18 1/3 innings, though Cleveland lost all three of those games. In Game 2 on Tuesday, he allowed three runs in five innings, but none were earned after a fourth-inning error.
Sunday’s matchup brings a familiar opponent back into the spotlight in Drew Rasmussen. Tampa Bay’s ace took a no-hit bid into the eighth inning against the Yankees in the division series and gave up two runs over six innings in Game 1 of this ALCS, a game Cleveland won 7-3 after rallying late.
The Guardians will also have their late-inning arms in better shape this time around. Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis and Erik Sabrowski were all held out on Saturday, giving Vogt plenty of trusted options behind Messick. Gavin Williams is also lined up to pitch later in the series if needed.
Game 5 carries the kind of weight that can tilt a series. The winner will be one step from the World Series and a matchup with the Milwaukee Brewers, who swept the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series.
The series then heads back to Tropicana Field for Game 6 on Monday, with a possible Game 7 on Tuesday. Game 5 is set for Sunday at 5 p.m. at Progressive Field, and Cleveland is handing the ball to its All-Star rookie.
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Freddy Peralta is lined up to start Game 6 for Tampa Bay, adding another layer to a matchup that has tilted toward the Rays pitching depth. For Cleveland, the decision to turn to Armstrong is a clear sign of how tight the margin is now, and how much the Guardians are leaning on flexibility rather than a more traditional formula as they face one last chance to force the series on. [Read more 🡒]