The Cleveland Guardians had hoped their starting pitcher Parker Messick would be able to aid them in securing a win on Tuesday night.
Unfortunately for Messick, his services on the mound weren’t his best for the Guardians, which did play a role in their 3-1 loss to the Rays in Game 2.
It was only a matter of time before Tampa Bay’s offense picked up where they left off in the ALDS. The hits came alive for them against Cleveland in Game 2, most notably off of Messick throughout the first few innings of this game.
Here’s what Messick’s pitching in Game 2 revealed that could be a major point of concern:
Messick’s lack of postseason experience is showing
One thing that changed that Messick benefited from was not throwing too many pitches like he did in his postseason debut against the White Sox. However, even his average pitch count per inning couldn’t stop the Rays from hitting his pitches.
He did keep his walk numbers down in Game 2, only walking two batters. The big issue was the hitting for contact by Tampa Bay. Even if one of the runs Messick surrendered came on an infield error by Jose Ramirez surprisingly, he would go on to give up two more on a single.
It just seemed like either Messick still hasn’t found his full control since making his first postseason start, or this Rays lineup is heating up once again.
Tampa Bay’s offense has knocked off the rust
The Rays recorded seven hits off of the Guardians pitching in Game 2, with six of those hits coming off of Messick. Whether Messick had another rough day pitching or the Rays offense is alive again, this offense showed why they made the ALCS.
While no home runs were hit by that heavy hitting Rays offense, the runs seemed to come at convenient times for them. Their base running also allowed them to sneak in two runs on a center field single.
It wasn’t an all-around team effort in Tampa Bay’s Game 2 win over Cleveland, as Jonny DeLuca and Liam Hicks both recorded two hits to contribute. But if they find these gritty wins against Cleveland without their top stars producing, it’ll be dangerous when they do.
If Messick ends up pitching again in this series, he’ll have a much better feel for what to expect against the Rays. Whether he’s pitching in front of his home crowd at Progressive Field or back at Tropicana Field, the environment shouldn’t throw him off his game.
This series is tied at one game a piece with the series heading back to Cleveland for a three game stretch. Both teams will have the day off Wednesday before resuming the ALCS on Thursday evening for Game 3.
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