Foster Griffin turned Game 3 into a lifeline for Cleveland, and now the Guardians need Parker Messick to carry that momentum into Game 4.
Nobody saw Griffin’s outing coming. He was thrust into the game in the first inning after Daniel Espino managed only two-thirds of a frame, and he stepped into a mess with two runners in scoring position. From there, he delivered one of the most stunning relief performances Cleveland has seen in the postseason: seven strikeouts in two and two-thirds innings.
“Where have they been hiding this guy?” Hoynes asked on the podcast.
“This was his first appearance of the postseason, and he notched seven strikeouts in two and two thirds innings. What’s going on with this guy?”
The strikeout numbers across the whole night were eye-popping, too. Joe Noga laid it out this way: “19 strikeouts for the Guardians. 17 of them by relievers in relief of Daniel Espino.
Griffin had almost a third of them by himself. Seven strikeouts - a Cleveland postseason relief record.”
Griffin had not pitched in nine days before getting the call, but he looked composed walking into a first-inning jam in an elimination game on the road. He also brought some familiarity with him from pitching in Japan, which mattered against Muneteki Murakami, one of Chicago’s biggest threats, in that opening inning with runners aboard.
“Vogt said that was a huge punch out that he got in the first inning,” Hoynes noted. “He just bailed Espino out of a jam.
And they were only down one nothing. So that kind of kept that game from unraveling right there.”
Once Griffin settled things, the rest of the bullpen kept the door shut. Tim Herrin struck out the side in the seventh.
Cade Smith got five of the six batters he faced over two perfect innings. In all, seven pitchers got Cleveland through nine innings in an elimination game.
That kind of bullpen effort, though, comes with a price tag for the next night.
Hoynes raised the issue directly: “The only thing I would question is why’d Cade Smith pitch the last two innings? Does that mean he’s not available tonight?”
Noga’s read was the same. With a six-run cushion, using Smith for two innings instead of saving him for a higher-leverage spot felt like a decision that could matter later. His pitch count still suggests he should be available, but Stephen Vogt will have to manage that situation as it unfolds.
Either way, the burden now shifts to Messick. After seven pitchers were needed in Game 3, Cleveland needs its Game 4 starter to give it length and stability.
Noga put it bluntly: “After using seven pitchers, the Guardians need Parker Messick to go out there and really do something they’ve gotten from the starters in this series. They’ve got to get some length. Messick has to get through five innings if the Guardians are going to force a Game 5.”
Hoynes added that Messick is making his sixth appearance against Chicago this season, postseason included, so there’s no mystery left in the matchup. Still, the rookie has answered the bell before. This time, the ask is bigger than ever.
In Other News...
Foster Griffin Gave Cleveland The Outing Nobody Saw Coming
Foster Griffins appearance in Game 3 of the American League Division Series was the kind of surprise outing that can change the feel of a postseason game. In just 2 2/3 innings of relief, Griffin struck out seven, matching the Guardians postseason record for strikeouts by a reliever and helping fuel a night in which Clevelands pitching staff piled up 19 strikeouts, an MLB postseason record for a nine-inning game.
What made it stand out even more was the setting around it. This was only Griffins second major league relief appearance and his first this season, so there was no real reason to expect him to become a central figure in a playoff game with that much on the line. Instead, he gave Cleveland an outing nobody saw coming, and in October, those are the performances that tend to linger. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Kept Their Season Alive And Now Everything Comes Home
The Guardians are headed back home with their season still intact after a 9-5 win over the White Sox in Game 4 of the ALDS. Cleveland had to answer after falling into an elimination game, and the lineup delivered enough punch to force a decisive Game 5, with the offense breaking through in a big way and giving the club another chance to keep its October run going.
Jos Ramrez was right in the middle of it, helping steady a night that could have slipped away and giving Cleveland the kind of lift it needed when the pressure was highest. Now the focus shifts back to home turf, where the Guardians will try to finish the job and move on to the ALCS, with everything in the series now coming down to one more game. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Suddenly Face A Game 5 Gavin Williams Dilemma
A tense Game 4 win over the White Sox left the Guardians with a familiar October problem and a new wrinkle at the same time. Stephen Vogt leaned on multiple bullpen arms to protect the lead, and one of the more surprising moves was turning to starter Gavin Williams in relief as Cleveland tried to push the American League Division Series to a winner-take-all Game 5.
That usage now hangs over the next days planning, because Williams had not been part of the late-inning relief mix before and was asked to get through just one inning. Vogt said both Williams and Cade Smith should still be options for Game 5, but Cleveland suddenly has to sort out how much it can ask from a starter it may have needed more than expected just to survive the previous night. [Read more 🡒]