Parker Messick shines in second career start as Guardians end six-game slide with 3-0 win over Rays

CLEVELAND — Left-hander Parker Messick produced a sparkling major league debut for the Guardians. In his second career start Tuesday night at Progressive Field, he was even better. Messick tossed seven scoreless innings and Cleveland made three runs in the first stand, ending a six-game losing skid with a 3-0 victory over Tampa Bay. The Guardians, who won for only the second time in 11 games, had been shut out in their three previous games. Thanks to a bullpen collapse that led to a 3-2, 10-inning loss, Aug. 20, in Arizona, Messick didn't get the win in his first start after allowing only a run over 6 2/3 innings. The Guardians were able to finish the deal for him this time around. "Both of (the outings) were great," said Messick, who joined Aaron Civale (2019) and Luis Tiant (1964) as the only pitchers in Cleveland history to throw six or more innings and allow one or fewer runs while striking out six or more in each of their first two career starts. "The first one's special in its own way since it is the first one, but this one, I was not going to say I was chasing that win, but you definitely want to get it out of the way. "The first one, I got my first strikeout, got that out of the way, went deep into the game, and then this one I was able to finally secure that win. It's a special moment. I'm super thankful." Messick, 24, retired the first nine batters he faced, allowing his first hit on a leadoff single in the fourth. He allowed four hits total, striking out six. "That was fun," manager Stephen Vogt said of Messick's performance. "He's just pumping the strike zone, coming right at them. I love the way he pushes the pace of the game. He puts a lot of pressure (on hitters). Our guys are on and off the field real quick, (he's) attacking the strike zone, quick outs, got punch outs when he needed it. But just the first-pitch strike execution. He gets them on their heels right away." The Guardians broke out of their offensive slump in a big way, ending a 28-inning scoreless streak with three runs in the first against right-hander Shane Baz, who entered the night with seven straight losses and a 5.22 ERA over 25 starts. The early uprising was needed after Baz retired the final 16 batters he faced. Cleveland put only one runner aboard on a walk from Angel Martinez over the final seven innings. "The first-inning runs were huge for a lot of factors, but the dugout had life tonight for the first time in a while," Vogt said. "We were having fun. We were joking around and back to being us. We haven't been able to do that much over the last week, week and a half. We didn't get anything going after the first, so we got to him early and that's why we won the game." "Anytime we can go out there and put a few runs up on the board, get the momentum going, it's huge," catcher Bo Naylor said. "It was a really good night tonight. The vibes were really good and I think that started from when we got to the field early today. We kind of understood the type of situation that we've been a part of the last few days and how we wanted to change it." So long, Santana? A source confirmed that the Guardians have placed veteran first baseman Carlos Santana on waivers. Teams have 48 hours to claim Santana, but would be responsible for the $2 million remaining on his contract with Cleveland. If he goes unclaimed, he would be returned to the Guardians, barring a corresponding move and is still part of the active roster. Santana, 39, is in his third stint with Cleveland after signing a one-year free agent contract worth $12 million prior to the season. Manager Stephen Vogt said during the Guardians' recent road trip that Santana would be losing playing time to Kyle Manzardo and rookie C.J. Kayfus moving forward. The veteran is batting .225 with 11 home runs and 52 RBIs. Contact Chris Assenheimer at (440) 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him @CAwesomeheimer on X.