The Cleveland Guardians know who will take the ball in the biggest game of their season so far. With the American League Championship Series tied at two games apiece after Saturday’s 7-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, Cleveland needed a starter for Sunday’s pivotal Game 5 at Progressive Field. Stephen Vogt had kept his options open heading into Game 4, waiting to see how the bullpen game would unfold before making a decision.
By the time the final out was recorded, the answer was clear. Vogt revealed that Parker Messick will start Game 5.
“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.
"Parker Messick's gonna start tomorrow."
Stephen Vogt names his Game 5 starter and shares his outlook on the rest of the ALCS.
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Vogt explained that the Guardians always had an idea Messick might be the pick for Game 5, but they needed to see how Saturday played out first.
The Guardians certainly went deep into their staff on Saturday. Shawn Armstrong opened the game, and Foster Griffin followed with 3 2/3 innings on 44 pitches. After that, Daniel Espino, Tim Herrin, Slade Cecconi, Matt Festa and Joey Cantillo all pitched, meaning seven different Cleveland pitchers took the mound. With Griffin used in relief, he was no longer an option to start Game 5, which made Messick the clear choice.
Before the rainout on Friday, Messick had been lined up to start Game 6 in Tampa Bay on Monday. Instead, he will pitch on normal rest in front of the home crowd with a chance to put Cleveland one win away from the World Series. The rookie has thrown a heavy workload this year, with 198 innings between the regular season and postseason, but he has been one of the most reliable starters in baseball all year.
His track record against the Rays is impressive. In three starts against Tampa Bay this season, Messick has allowed just two earned runs over 18 1/3 innings, even though the Guardians lost all three games. In Game 2 on Tuesday, he allowed three runs over five innings, but none of them were earned after a fourth inning error.
Sunday’s game will be a rematch of that July matchup. The Rays are sending ace Drew Rasmussen to the mound. Rasmussen carried a no hit bid into the eighth inning against the Yankees in the division series and allowed two runs over six innings in Game 1 of this series, when Cleveland rallied late for a 7-3 win.
The good news for the Guardians is that their top relievers are rested. Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis and Erik Sabrowski did not pitch on Saturday, so Vogt will have his most trusted late inning arms available behind Messick. Gavin Williams is also lined up to pitch later in the series if needed.
The stakes could not be much higher. The winner of Game 5 will be one win away from facing the Milwaukee Brewers, who swept the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series, in the World Series. After Sunday, the series will shift back to Tropicana Field for Game 6 on Monday and a potential Game 7 on Tuesday. Game 5 is set for Sunday at 5 p.m. at Progressive Field, and the Guardians are putting their trust in their All Star rookie.
NEXT: Guardians Drop Game 4 At Home As Rays Tie AL Championship Series
