Parker Messick and Stephen Vogt Break Down Mindset During Near No-Hitter

"I really thought he was going to do it."

Those were the words muttered by Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt following starting pitcher Parker Messick's near no-hitter. The 25-year-old, making just his 11th big league start, tossed eight no-hit innings on Thursday, April 16.

But then, unfortunately, he allowed a hit on the first pitch of the ninth inning, putting an immediate end to such a potential historic accomplishment.

"I mean, it sucks, but it’s baseball," he said about the hit allowed. "It [a no-hitter] might happen for me one day, if the Lord wills. I’ll have plenty more years to pitch some baseball games, so, you know, it might happen again, so my only thought is just lock back in and get the next guy out."

Messick finished the game with two hits and two walks allowed, striking out nine batters in total, which tied a career-high.

As the game hit the midway point, the crowd began to slowly realize that Messick may be able to join an elite list of major league pitchers.

And for Cleveland, that list is incredibly short. The last time a Cleveland pitcher tossed a no-hitter was in Len Barker's perfect game that occurred back on May 15, 1981, in a win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Messick began to take notice of the crowd's murmur, something that eventually grew into a roar in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings.

"The crowd got pretty loud, and that’s an awesome feeling when everybody gets into it," Messick said. "So at that moment, it was kind of like I was really trying to lock in every pitch, and not that I wasn’t the entire game, but that’s kind of when it sunk in a little bit."

He tried to keep himself composed while on the mound, especially considering the deficit was just four runs for the Orioles. After all, that's just a few knocks for an offense like theirs that's riddled with some of the league's better bats.

"I pretty much, about the sixth inning on, prayed between pretty much every inning, and I was just telling myself I’m leaning on the Lord’s strength, and then following that prayer, it was just execute, execute, execute."

For the youngster to have only pitched through 65 innings in his entire big league career, that type of efficiency doesn't just appear out of thin air. Messick credited veteran catcher Austin Hedges, who was set up just behind home plate on Thursday.

"Every single game from start to finish this year has been amazing," Messick said about working with Hedges. "I’ve done my best to sing his praises after every one of my starts because game plans, the way he watches the game, like he said, all I have to do is go out there and execute, and that’s it. He takes the pressure off me. I just, basically, I don’t think I’ve shaken him in however many starts we’ve had.

"I've thrown every pitch he’s called, and I just trust that he has the experience back there and he knows what he’s looking at, and he knows the scouting report, and it’s worked so far, so I don’t think I’ll be changing that."

At this point, it seems like every time he steps out on the diamond, he's going to punch his ticket into historic lists and conversations.

And although the no-hitter wasn't able to be secured, the future remains bright for Messick.

"He pushes the tempo. He dictates how quick that game’s going to go," Vogt said. "Taxes the strike zone. Works quick... That was very special what we got to watch tonight. That’s an unbelievably talented lineup that he took a no-hitter into the ninth against. Just continued to attack, continued to give them different looks throughout the whole game. He and Hedgy were magnificent with their sequencing. Never the same sequence once. Never really doubled up a ton.

"That arsenal and the way they just, that was a beautiful, beautiful game."

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