Parker Messick only goes 2 innings, continues rough postseason in Guardians' Game 5 loss to Rays

CLEVELAND — The Guardians needed a win, and length, from No. 1 starter Parker Messick. Unfortunately, they received neither. Messick was pulled after throwing 57 pitches through two innings during a 3-1 loss to Tampa Bay in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series on Sunday at Progressive Field. Cleveland trails the series 3-2 and will have no time to regroup, as it will head to Tampa for Game 6 Monday night facing elimination. A win would force a winner-take-all Game 7 on Tuesday. Milwaukee will host Game 1 of the World Series on Friday. "Give a lot of credit to them," Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. "They shot him the other way and they did a really nice job of not trying to do too much off of him. They made him throw a lot of pitches, work some walks. Command again wasn't outstanding, but the velo was there and the ball was moving the way he wanted it. Just not enough strikes and they really made him work." Messick threw 186 1/3 innings in the regular season, going 12-9 with a 2.56 ERA, 1.063 WHIP and 193 strikeouts. He was named one of three finalists for American League Rookie of the Year. He had thrown 11 2/3 innings in his previous three postseason starts and Sunday eclipsed 200 for the season. And just like in his second start against the Chicago White Sox in Game 4 of the ALDS, he did not make it past the third inning. However, Messick dismissed his workload as the reason for his struggles. "I've said it before, I feel great right now," Messick said. "Simply just me executing. But body feels good, arm feels good. I'm still throwing hard. I don't really have any body fatigue, just whether or not I'm executing the game plan." Yandy Diaz got to Messick immediately with a leadoff double and Ryan Vilade drew a walk, but Messick had a chance to get out of the first with no damage. Instead, he walked in the first run after the Rays loaded the bases on an infield hit from Chandler Simpson. Tampa tagged Messick for three hits in its first four at-bats in the second, going up 2-0 on Jonathan Aranda's RBI single into left field. Messick responded by striking out Vilade and Junior Caminero, but with his pitch count at 57 Vogt went to the bullpen. Sunday marked the first time Patrick Bailey caught Messick after Austin Hedges was behind the dish for the southpaw's other 34 starts this season. Messick praised Bailey's game plan and said the switch was not a factor. "They had a good approach and took their hits the other way," Bailey said. "We gave them opportunities and sometimes you have to tip your cap to the other side." The short outing from Messick meant Vogt leaned on his bullpen more than planned. Tim Herrin, Shawn Armstrong, Erik Sabrowski, Hunter Gaddis and Cade Smith all pitched at least one inning, with Armstrong, Sabrowski, Gaddis and Smith retiring more than three batters. Smith was the only reliver to hit the 20-pitch mark, finishing with 22. The extra bullpen usage in Game 5 could have consequences for a team that has routinely used an opener to lead into either Joey Cantillo or Foster Griffin on games when Messick or fellow ace Gavin Williams isn't pitching. Griffin followed opener Armstrong in Game 4 of the ALCS. Without a day off for the remainder of the ALCS, Vogt might need to lean more on Cantillo or starter Tanner Bibee, who has only recorded one out in the postseason when he appeared in Game 4 of the ALDS. Bibee signed a five-year, $48 million contract extension with Cleveland in March 2025 and was a fixture in Cleveland's 2024 postseason rotation that lost 4-1 to the Yankees in the ALCS. In 2026, Bibee went 7-15 with a 4.36 ERA, 1.223 WHIP and 148 strikeouts in 188 innings. While Vogt did not name his Game 6 starter, he ruled out bringing back Williams on short rest, keeping him in line to start Game 7 on his normal schedule should the Guardians get there. "We didn't anticipate going to the bullpen in the third, but with Parker at (57) pitches through two it didn't feel right to put him back out there," Vogt said. "Credit to our bullpen, they kept us in the game the whole way." Contact Chris Sweeney at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X.