KANSAS CITY -- If you scanned the Guardians’ lineup for Sunday’s regular-season finale at Kauffman Stadium, a 3-2 loss, you noticed it did not include a number of usual suspects. After Cleveland clinched the AL Central and a first-round bye in the postseason on Saturday, Game 162 was merely a formality.
Mainstays José Ramírez, Steven Kwan, Chase DeLauter and Brayan Rocchio each got the day off. Austin Hedges (the DH on Sunday) took just two at-bats before exiting.
There was, however, one name that you may have been surprised to see on the lineup card: Lefty Parker Messick, who could be the Guardians’ Game 1 starter in the AL Division Series in six days.
The Guardians shuffled their rotation in recent weeks to line up Messick to start Game 162 on normal rest. That way, if they needed a win that would be crucial in the postseason race, they’d have the AL Cy Young and Rookie of the Year Award contender on the mound to pave the way.
Cleveland could have stayed away from Messick after it clinched on Saturday, but he would have faced a long layoff before his first playoff start, when the Guardians obviously will need him in peak form. Before Sunday, Messick’s most recent start was on Tuesday against the Red Sox.
If he doesn’t pitch Game 1 of the ALDS on Saturday (Gavin Williams is another candidate), Messick assuredly will pitch Game 2 on Monday. At that point he would have had 10 or 12 days between outings.
So there was Messick on Sunday, getting one final tuneup that amounted to more than a bullpen session but less than a normal workload. The 25-year-old faced 16 hitters and threw 64 pitches (42 strikes) over three innings, in which he allowed one run on six hits and one walk with two strikeouts.
It wasn’t his sharpest outing, but he extended his streak to 15 straight starts allowing three or fewer runs. He finished the regular season with a 2.56 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 193 strikeouts and 49 walks in 186 1/3 innings over 32 starts.