Messick's 6 2/3 scoreless innings propel Guards to shutout win

ATLANTA -- After Parker Messick held the Cubs to one run over five innings on Sunday, his catcher offered a bit of an endorsement, if not a declaration, about him.

“He’s so good,” Austin Hedges said of Messick this past Sunday. “The guy’s going to be a household name here shortly."

If Messick keeps pitching the way he has been, it will be impossible to argue with that. Heck, we’re seeing the early indicators each time the rookie left-hander takes the ball. Our most recent example? Messick’s dominant performance against one of the Majors’ top lineups.

Messick threw 6 2/3 scoreless innings Saturday to lead the Guardians to a 6-0 win over the Braves at Truist Park. The 25-year-old allowed just four hits and two walks while striking out five batters.

“This kid can pitch,” manager Stephen Vogt said. “He's not afraid of any moment and keeps proving it over and over. Outstanding job.”

Vogt has pointed to the fearlessness with which Messick pitches time and time again since the lefty made his MLB debut on Aug. 20 this past season. We saw it down the stretch in 2025, and we’re seeing it early and often this year against some of the league’s better offenses.

Messick has faced the Dodgers, Cubs and Braves in his first three starts this season. He has a 0.51 ERA over 17 2/3 innings, having permitted just one run on 11 hits and five walks while striking out 16.

“It’s big for the confidence,” said Messick, who has a 2.04 ERA in 10 career starts. “Every team I’ve faced has studs top to bottom. There's not much I can do about that. Just go out there and execute my game plan and do what I'm supposed to do and help the team win. So that's what I try to focus on, and not let who I'm facing get in the way of that.

“I went out there and executed another one. Hopefully I can do that again next week.”

The Braves entered Saturday averaging 5.50 runs per game, which ranked fifth in the Majors. We got an up-close look at their deep mix on Friday, when they beat the Guardians, 11-5, in the series opener. Messick got tested in several situations and passed each time.

Messick allowed a one-out single to Drake Baldwin in the first inning and a two-out walk to Matt Olson. He worked around that by getting Austin Riley to pop out to Rhys Hoskins in foul territory.

With two outs in the third inning, Messick walked Baldwin and allowed a single to Ozzie Albies. It brought Olson to the plate with a chance to erase the Guardians’ 1-0 lead. Messick fell behind him after missing high with a first-pitch four-seam fastball.

Olson then fouled off back-to-back offerings -- another four-seamer and a curveball -- before Messick struck him out on a changeup that dove below the zone to end the threat. The lefty let out a primal yell and pumped his fist.

“He's got a good changeup,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “It's a different look for guys. He's a little funky left-hander, but his fastball plays up. That's a really unique changeup."

The only other trouble Messick encountered came after he allowed a two-out triple to Ronald Acuña Jr. in the fifth inning. Facing Baldwin, Messick missed high with a first-pitch sinker, and then pounded the Braves’ backstop on the inner half with three pitches. He got a called strike on his curveball and got Baldwin to foul off another sinker.

On the fourth pitch of the sequence, Messick struck out Baldwin looking with a changeup. Again, he let out an impassioned yell.

“That's probably when you see me show a little emotion coming off the mound,” Messick said.

“It's always positive. It's never to show anyone else up. It's always directed at me, at our own dugout. When I'm able to execute those big pitches and those big moments against their best hitters, there's no better feeling. That's what you try to do every single time.”

The sequence to Baldwin is a good microcosm of what we’re seeing from Messick. He has a deep arsenal of pitches and isn’t afraid to go right at hitters with them. On Saturday, he threw 84 pitches (60 strikes), between his four-seamer (29 pitches), changeup (17), curveball (12), slider (10), sinker (nine) and cutter (seven).

The Braves offered Messick yet another challenge. He more than reaffirmed what Hedges said about him a week ago.

“That was unbelievable. That was outstanding,” Vogt said.