Rocky Road to Victory: Parker Messick Details Performance in Start That Beat Astros

The Cleveland Guardians weren't going to beat the Houston Astros if they gave up runs early, especially after seeing how Monday night's contest went.

And although starting pitcher Parker Messick ended up collapsing a bit in the fifth inning, his control on the mound through the first four gave the Guardians a chance to stay alive and pull off a late-game rally.

On Tuesday, April 21, the Guardians played host to the Astros for the second outing of a three-game set, downing them in comeback fashion, 8-5. And while it wasn't the prettiest showing from start to finish, Cleveland yet again showed that you can't count the game as over until that final out is recorded, especially with a clutch rookie like Chase DeLauter in the lineup.

Messick ended up pitching through the fifth inning, ending his night with six hits, three runs and one walk given up, all while striking out four batters. It certainly wasn't his best night statistically, but he once again showed resilience.

"Yeah, no, that was the best I've actually felt all year, believe it or not," Messick began when asked about how he felt f ollowing an eight-inning outing just a few days ago. "Coming off the high pitch count, that was my highest average fastball velocity. That was kind of the sharpest some of my shapes have been on all the pitches. So, yeah, I can't complain. Body felt great.

"It's what it is. Those last couple of runs can't do much about it, but, I mean, I'm still throwing some of my hardest heaters later into the outing."

After allowing two singles and a double in the fifth inning, allowing Houston to get a run on the board, Messick then fell deeper into trouble. He hit Dustin Harris and walked Carlos Correa, before an RBI single from the red-hot bat of Yordan Alvarez brought in two runs to take the lead.

Fortunately, even through all the ups and downs of the fifth, Messick was able to stay composed enough to get through the inning, which is again, a testament to his mental game and the trust from the coaching staff that he could hang in there.

"Yeah, it definitely sucks there," Messick said on seeing Alvarez continue to get knocks. "I mean, when you're facing probably the best hitter in the league right now, I feel like it's safe to say. You do well the first two at-bats and then he kind of flips one out there and it just stays up long where you think there might be a chance, but then it falls kind of in no man's land.

"...You know, they're not slugging right now, especially when I can limit the big, deep balls against those kinds of hitters, that's right where I want to be."

Vogt's Thoughts on the 25-year-old

After the game concluded, Vogt backed Messick, saying that he was happy with the way he battled, especially in that fifth inning.

"I thought Parker was great," Vogt said. "They made him work. I'm putting more credit on their bats off of him than anything else. But I thought he battled. They got to him there a little bit in the fifth, but he was still able to finish the inning.

"The performance five days ago was outstanding. The performance tonight was outstanding. Just didn't get as deep as we're used to seeing him so far this year. But you hold that line up to three runs, that's doing a good job."

The Astros' lineup is no joke, especially with hitters like Jose Altuve and Alvarez continuing to punch the ball at an impressive rate.

On the campaign, Alvarez is currently batting .330 with 18 extra-base hits, while Altuve has been consistently getting on base. He has 25 hits and 15 walks drawn this year.

Fortunately, even though the Astros are one of the hottest teams with a bat in hand, the Guardians have the series level at one heading into the finale on Wednesday. With Tanner Bibee on the bump, following up Messick, the two sides will clash at 1:10 p.m. EST.

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