The Cleveland Guardians have found a true gem.
Lefty Parker Messick has looked like a star in his first two MLB outings, and he’ll have a spot in the starting rotation for the remainder of the season if he keeps it up, even when John Means returns.
As pointed out by Tim Stebbins of MLB.com, Messick recently joined a very exclusive club.
“Messick is the third pitcher in Cleveland history to throw six or more innings and allow one or zero runs with six-plus strikeouts in his first two career starts (Aaron Civale, 2019 and Luis Tiant, 1964),” Stebbins wrote.
He threw seven scoreless innings to help the Guardians end a six-game losing streak with a 3-0 win against the Tampa Bay Rays at Progressive Field.
He retired the first 10 hitters he faced, and he left the game with 66 strikes on 98 pitches.
Messick made his MLB debut with an impressive 6.2 innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks, a game the Guardians lost in 10.
Armed with an elite changeup, a four-seam fastball, curveball, slider and sinker, he’s done an outstanding job of painting the strike zone and staying ahead in the count.
He gave up just four hits (three singles) and didn’t issue a single walk against the Rays, with Hunter Gaddis and Cade Smith pitching one inning each to secure the shutout.
Messick has an 0.66 ERA with 12 strikeouts and one walk in his first two MLB starts.
The Guardians will turn to Slade Cecconi to keep the momentum going, with the visiting Rays giving the ball to Drew Rasmussen.
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