Amid playoff push, Guardians set rotation for crucial series with Twins
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MINNEAPOLIS -- Hot on the heels of a three-game sweep at Detroit that turned up the heat on the first-place (for now) Tigers, the Guardians have settled on their slate of starting pitchers for this weekend’s four-game series at Target Field.
Lefty Parker Messick (3-0, 1.84 ERA) looked to continue his torrid start to his Major League career, facing the Twins for the first time on Friday. In Saturday’s doubleheader, Slade Cecconi (6-6, 4.39) will get the ball in Game 1 and Logan Allen (7-11, 4.36) will start Game 2. Finally, on Sunday, Joey Cantillo (5-3, 3.27) will get the nod before the Guardians head back to Cleveland for their final homestand of the season, which begins on Tuesday against the Tigers.
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Manager Stephen Vogt said there was no great mystery involved in deciding the order of Saturday’s starters.
“They're both going to pitch tomorrow, so it doesn't really matter,” Vogt said. “Slade's going well in day games, but there's really no rhyme or reason.”
Veteran lefty John Means will make one more rehab start Friday night with Triple-A Columbus, so he’s not an option to pitch this weekend. Vogt wouldn’t rule out adding Means -- who had Tommy John surgery in June 2024 -- to the roster at some point, depending on how he responds from his latest outing. But this is a case when the team’s interests take a back seat to those of the player.
“Any time we're working with -- especially Tommy John rehab -- him getting healthy is the most important thing,” Vogt said.
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Even after winning seven straight and 12 of their last 13, the Guardians are still 3 1/2 games behind the Tigers. But that’s the closest to first place they’ve been since being three games back on May 24. And suppose they want to make history by completing the biggest comeback in a divisional race in MLB history? In that case, a strong showing over a potentially soggy weekend in Minnesota is a must. Don’t expect the Twins’ second-half struggles and fourth-place standing to give the visitors a sense of complacency, especially with what they have on the line.
“It doesn't matter who we're playing,” Vogt said. “We know that we have to play flawless baseball to win. And it's a Major League Baseball game. Records are not indicative of how good or poor a team is, so our guys are ready to go in there. They're excited, they're fired up, and we know we have to come out and play really well to win a game.”