The Guardians had already done the important work by the time they reached Sunday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium. Cleveland’s 3-2 loss to Kansas City in the regular-season finale did not alter the club’s place atop the AL Central, nor did it disturb the first-round postseason bye secured a day earlier.
That gave the lineup card a different look. José Ramírez, Steven Kwan, Chase DeLauter and Brayan Rocchio were all held out, while Austin Hedges served as the designated hitter but left after two plate appearances. Game 162 was about keeping the regulars healthy, with the Division Series now waiting ahead.
The more revealing decision came on the mound, where Parker Messick made his scheduled start despite the clinch. Cleveland had arranged its rotation in recent weeks so the left-hander would be available on standard rest for the finale, a precaution in case the division race demanded one more meaningful win. Once the Guardians wrapped up the title Saturday, they still chose to give him an abbreviated outing rather than let him sit too long before October.
Messick worked three innings against 16 hitters, throwing 64 pitches and landing 42 for strikes. He gave up a run on six hits and a walk, struck out two and was not at his crispest, but the appearance served its purpose as a final competitive tuneup. It also stretched his run to 15 consecutive starts in which he allowed no more than three runs.
The 25-year-old closed the regular season with a 2.56 ERA and 1.06 WHIP across 186 1/3 innings in 32 starts. He issued 49 walks, struck out 193 hitters and enters the postseason as a contender for both the American League Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year.
Messick is a leading possibility to take the ball for Cleveland in Game 1 of the AL Division Series, scheduled for Oct. 3 on TBS, truTV and HBO Max. Gavin Williams remains another option for that opener. If Williams gets the first assignment, Messick is expected to follow in Game 2 on Monday, a schedule that would leave him with either 10 or 12 days between starts.
For a club that could afford to treat Sunday as a breather, Messick’s three innings carried a little more weight than the final score. Cleveland rested its everyday names, kept its left-hander on schedule and walked out of Kansas City with its October rotation taking shape.
