The Cleveland Guardians left St. Petersburg with a sweep at the hands of the Rays, but the story of Sunday’s finale belonged to a Cleveland pitcher who did everything right and still walked away without a win.
Parker Messick worked 7 and 2/3 brilliant innings, allowing just one run on six hits while walking none and striking out six in a 1-0 loss.
Despite the outcome, Messick chose to focus on the bigger picture when discussing the loss afterward.
“It’s one of those games where you can’t be too hard on yourself about,’’ Messick said. “We’re struggling [offensively], and we’ve just got to find different ways to win. I gave the team a chance to win, and that’s all I can do every time I go out there. We’ll turn it around.’’
Messick acknowledged the offense has been searching for answers, but he made clear his job is simply to give the team a chance to win every time he takes the mound, regardless of how the game shakes out. He pointed to his belief that the offense will eventually turn things around, framing the loss as part of a long season rather than a reason for frustration. It marked the second time in four career starts against Tampa Bay that Messick posted a sub two ERA, improving his career mark against the Rays to a stellar 1.03 over that stretch.
Manager Stephen Vogt did not hold back in praising the effort, calling it as impressive a performance as Messick has turned in all year.
Steven Kwan echoed his manager’s praise for Messick, saying the lefthander has given the team a chance to win all season regardless of the run support behind him. The Guardians finished the series having managed only 13 hits total and now sit at 3 wins and 7 losses since the All Star break, scoring just 12 runs across those seven defeats.
Cleveland will look to regroup as they face the Reds on Monday.
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