Cleveland Guardians left-hander Parker Messick pitched a short but solid game on Saturday, but the Chicago White Sox’s pitching staff was even better, and they ended up earning a 3-0 win in Game 1 of the American League Division Series at Progressive Field. Hagen Smith, Bryan Hudson, Jordan Hicks, Anthony Kay, and Grant Taylor (who tossed four scoreless innings to close out the game) limited the home team to just three hits.
Messick gave the Guardians 4.1 innings, allowing two runs. Both of them came on Munetaka Murakami’s two-run shot in the fourth frame.
Tough start.#GuardsBall | #StandGuard pic.twitter.com/0i1u5FPPbw
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) October 3, 2026
The AL Rookie of the Year and AL Cy Young Award candidate surrendered four hits and issued two walks, striking out six.
In the bottom of the third, the Guardians loaded the bases with two outs, putting some stress on Smith. Chase DeLauter, however, flew out against Hudson to throw away a nice chance to do some damage.
Immediately after that, the White Sox attacked. Miguel Vargas singled against Messick, and Murakami followed with his two-run blast.
Chicago did a very good job making Messick work, which is why he couldn’t even complete five innings. Manager Stephen Vogt removed his ace with 87 pitches.
The White Sox added an insurance run in the top of the seventh. Against left-hander Erik Sabrowski, Colson Montgomery hit an RBI double that plated Kyle Teel to make it a 3-0 ballgame.
Nathaniel Lowe and Travis Bazzana doubled, and Patrick Bailey hit a single. Beyond that and five walks, the Guardians’ offense had absolutely nothing against an incredible White Sox staff. Cleveland struck out 12 times in the game. Chicago’s unconventional strategy worked, at least for a game.
The Guardians’ bullpen did a solid job relieving Messick. Daniel Espino, Sabrowski, Hunter Gaddis, Tim Herrin, and Cade Smith combined to concede a single run in 4.2 frames. The hitters just couldn’t do anything to support it, though.
The series will continue on Monday at 5:00 pm ET at Progressive Field. Gavin Williams will take the ball for the Guardians, looking to even things with a brilliant pitching performance.
Cleveland’s hitters will need to do a much better job if they want to have a chance to survive the series.
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