Hunter Gaddis gives it up in the eighth as Guardians drop series opener to Rays

CLEVELAND — Relief pitcher Hunter Gaddis missed most of the first month of the season with a forearm strain. It looks like he is still shaking off the rust. Gaddis, one of the top setup men in the majors over the past two years, allowed two runs in the eighth inning to pave the way for a 3-2 loss to the Rays at Progressive Field on Monday night. Daniel Schneemann's two-run homer in the fifth scored the first two runs of the game before Gaddis was called on to get the final out in the seventh. The right-hander allowed the first three batters to reach in the eighth, which included a leadoff, game-tying homer from Jonathan Aranda that landed just inside the foul pole in right. The Rays scored the game-winning run on Ryan Vilade's RBI single — his second run-scoring base hit in three innings. "I haven't looked at any video, but the Aranda pitch was (a fastball) right down the middle, so just a couple of pitches not where he wanted them," manager Stephen Vogt said. "We've seen Gaddy be lights out. (It was) just a tough night." Gaddis has allowed runs in three of his first six appearances and owns a 6.75 ERA. The unraveling ruined another solid outing from left-hander Parker Messick, who equaled a career high with nine strikeouts and came an out away (5 2/3 innings) from his fourth quality start of the season. Messick struck out six of the first 11 batters he faced and allowed only two hits through the first five innings — the first on a swinging bunt in the second from Jonny DeLuca that traveled around 5 feet down the third-base line. "Parker was outstanding. That lineup makes you work," Vogt said. "I thought he pitched his tail off and gave us a chance to win. (It was) just an unfortunate ending. "He's getting us into the sixth. He's going deep into games, saving the bullpen bullets, and just unfortunate to drop that one when you get that performance." Messick departed after allowing a two-out single to Vilade that brought the Rays within a run in the sixth. He has pitched at least five innings in five of his six starts, allowing a run or fewer in four of them. "The name of the game is to get as many punch outs as you can and go as deep as you can," Messick said. "There are some counts that I kind of let slip away, didn't get ahead as well as I normally have or as well as I like. I try to hold myself to a high standard in that aspect, so there's some things that I can improve on. David Fry won a challenge on a 3-2 pitch in the fifth, drawing a walk before Schneemann hit the first pitch he saw from Rays starter Steven Matz out to right-center. "I went up and told (Fry), I said, 'If you didn't challenge that ball, odds are I probably don't hit a homer right there,'" said Schneemann, who is riding a career-high 13-game on-base streak. "It was a great at-bat and I think it just sparked a little rally for us. "I don't know how everyone feels about the ABS. I'm a big fan of it. I think it helps. I guess that's just an example of how it can help a team win a game. I enjoy seeing those calls get overturned." The Guardians own one of the lowest success rates in the majors on challenges, but they went 4-for-5 in the series opener. "(It was) definitely our most successful night," Vogt said. "Our guys were aggressive. It was great. And obviously David with the huge 3-2 pitch got us a run. Hedgie flipped a number of at-bats tonight. We want our guys to continue to be aggressive and use it and let's win as many as we can." Hedges won three of his four challenges. "It's a big help. I mean, it stinks when the hitter does it, too, but it's awesome when your catcher does it for you, especially in the big moment," Messick said. "And (Hedges) knows the zone better than anyone. So him being able to trust that I'm going to execute where he's calling it and if he sticks it there and sees it there, he's going to challenge it. He did a great job tonight with that." The Guardians put two on with one out in the ninth against Bryan Baker on a single from pinch hitter Kyle Manzardo followed by a double from Chase DeLauter. But pinch hitter George Valera and Schneemann struck out swinging. Contact Chris Assenheimer at (440) 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him @CAwesomeheimer on X.