Messick stands out in Guardians' win

Messick is a very unique competitor. At this point, I wish Austin Hedges could catch all of our pitchers because he seems to make them all great. Messick kept the hitters on their toes the whole game. 36% of Messick's four-seamers were called strikes or misses, and 29% of his cutters were. And with that said, I don't get how anyone ever hits his changeup.

After 106 pitches, manager Stephen Vogt correctly let Messick try to get a no-hitter, but Leody Tavares hit a single past Juan Brito at 103.5 mph, and then Blaze Alexander hit another ball hard for a single. At that point Vogt got Cade Smith who is still making things interesting in the 9th. He gave up a single a sac fly to Gunnar Henderson that was very close to being a grand slam and a double to Pete Alonso. Then he got a pop fly and a groundout. The last groundout was the hardest hit ball of the game, going 107 mph. Juan Brito made a great sliding play and throw from a sitting position. Hopefully that helps the young infielder forget about how badly he played in the bottom of the ninth in St. Louis, which cost the Guardians a game.

Cade Smith needs to start finding his secondary stuff more often, or the Guardians' closer position could turn into a Joe Borowski year. Cade, no one wants to go all the way to Borowski. Take it easy, buddy. We trust Carl.

Jose Ramirez hit a two run home run on the first pitch he saw of the night. It was nice to see that. Jose also got a hit and a walk and his OPS is slowly going back up to .800 or more. Brayan Rocchio hit a double and both Steven Kwan and George Valera had two hits. It has been good to see the Guardians win some games while Chase DeLauter works on his hitting.

This was a big win. I hope the Guardians can find a way to beat the Orioles three times this week. That would help me get over how bad the Cardinals' series made me feel. Watching Parker Messick completely destroy other teams helped a lot with that.