Parker Messick is getting a homecoming start with a lot more riding on it than the usual family-and-friends visit.
The Cleveland Guardians will hand the ball to the Plant City, Fla., native on Tuesday for Game 2 of the American League Championship Series against the Tampa Bay Rays, with Cleveland already leaning into a postseason habit that has treated it well: winning away from home. Messick, a 25-year-old rookie left-hander out of Florida State, said “a pretty large group of people” is expected to make the roughly 45-minute trip to Tropicana Field.
That should make for a loud backdrop as Messick takes the mound in the best-of-seven series. The lefty has already done plenty of work against Tampa Bay this year, and the numbers have been kind. In two starts at the Rays, he allowed just two runs across 13 2/3 innings, including one run in 7 2/3 innings on July 26.
“I think I've handled it both times pretty well, both starts have been fine,” Messick said on Monday, hours before Cleveland’s 7-3 win in the opener. “So I anticipate this just being another day I get to see family and get to pitch in front of the people that care most about me.
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt sees the same comfort level.
“He's had two straight very good starts here in front of his family and friends. It's always a special boost when you get to play at home as a player.”
Messick has been even tougher on Tampa Bay over the bigger sample, going 2-1 with a 1.03 ERA in four career appearances, all starts. His last postseason outing was rougher, though. Against the Chicago White Sox on Thursday, he allowed two runs and tied a career high with four walks in 2 1/3 innings, taking a no-decision.
“You can definitely tell it's October baseball, but everyone goes through it,” said Messick, who finished the regular season 12-9 with a 2.56 ERA in 32 starts. “You've got to find a way to dig deep and keep going. I feel great, though.”
Cleveland looked plenty comfortable too in the opener, scoring all seven of its runs over the final four innings and rolling to its third straight road playoff win. The Guardians have put up 25 runs in their three road postseason games.
A trio of in-season additions fueled much of the damage Monday. Nathaniel Lowe, Jo Adell and Patrick Bailey combined for five hits and five RBIs, with Lowe delivering the go-ahead two-run single in the eighth. Bailey and rookie Chase DeLauter added homers, while Jose Ramirez and DeLauter each finished with three hits as the Guardians piled up 14 total.
The result also gave Tampa Bay its first loss of the postseason.
The Rays will counter with right-hander Freddy Peralta, who enters at 0-0 with a 1.93 ERA in the playoffs. Peralta closed the regular season on a tear, going 5-0 with a 0.79 ERA over his final six starts, then took a no-decision against the Yankees on Oct. 5 after giving up one run on three hits in 4 2/3 innings.
Against Cleveland, the 30-year-old is 1-2 with a 4.00 ERA in four career appearances, three of them starts.
Tampa Bay also appeared to dodge a bigger scare Monday night. Left fielder Jonny DeLuca collided with third baseman Junior Caminero while chasing a ninth-inning fly ball in foul territory, and Caminero stayed down for several moments before getting up and remaining in the game.
Afterward, manager Kevin Cash said, “He's OK,” and added, “I think he just got the wind knocked out of him. He seems to be totally fine now.”
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Junior Caminero Gave The Rays A Huge Game 2 Spark
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Camineros defense became part of that response, helping energize the Rays in a tense spot against the Guardians. Plays like that can change the mood of a series in a hurry, and Tampa Bay had to like the energy it was getting from one of its young players as the pressure kept building. [Read more 🡒]
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Chase DeLauter went so far as to call Ramrez a Hall of Famer, and manager Stephen Vogt sounded confident about the veterans recovery from hand surgery. For Tampa Bay, that only adds to the concern, because Ramrez is no longer just a name on the opposing lineup card, he is the kind of hitter who can change the tone of a series almost by himself, especially when the Guardians are starting to string together better at-bats behind him. [Read more 🡒]
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For Milwaukee fans, the connection is easy to see. Tampa Bay has a habit of extracting value before a player reaches the open market, and Rasmussens rise only adds to the intrigue around what the Rays may do next with him. He has been steady enough to draw attention across the league, earned back-to-back All-Star nods, and now sits in that familiar Rays spot where performance, contract status and trade interest all start pulling in different directions. [Read more 🡒]