Messick sharp again as six-man rotation boosts Guards' WC chase 

CLEVELAND -- Earlier this week, Guardians manager Stephen Vogt was asked to assess how he felt his club’s shift to a six-man rotation was going through one turn.

“I think it’s been good, other than it’s hard to keep track of who’s pitching tomorrow,” Vogt quipped on Wednesday.

All jokes aside, the results speak for themselves. The success was once more evident on Saturday, as Parker Messick tossed his fourth quality start in his fifth career outing to lead the Guardians to a 3-1 win over the White Sox at Progressive Field.

It marked the Guardians’ eighth win over their past nine games, as they improved to 9-4 in September. Cleveland (77-71) drew to within three games of Seattle (81-68) for the third American League Wild Card spot.

The Guardians are in a stretch of playing 17 games in as many days. Monday will mark their first off-day since Aug. 28. Cleveland is then slated to play seven games in six days next week, which includes a doubleheader on Saturday against the Twins.

Given the potentially taxing nature of that stretch (one coming in the thick of their push for a postseason spot), Cleveland pivoted to a six-man staff, and it has paid off. The Guardians’ rotation, featuring Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams, Slade Cecconi, Logan Allen, Messick and Joey Cantillo, has recorded a 2.53 ERA over 81 2/3 innings this month.

“When we mapped it out,” Vogt said pregame Saturday, “it just made a lot of sense for this stretch of 24 [games] in 24 days. With our young starters and how many innings they've thrown to this point, it just made a lot of sense for us to do it. Obviously, the results have been great. The work that these guys are able to get in between starts [also has been].

“They're able to get extra work when they have an extra day of rest, and they're all well rested when they are pitching. So it's worked really well for this stretch.

The workload aspect cannot be overlooked. Guardians starters have reached or are nearing a professional career high in innings pitched at any level.

Guardians starters’ innings in 2025
Tanner Bibee -- 170 1/3; career high: 173 2/3 (2024)
Gavin Williams -- 156 2/3 (new career high)
Slade Cecconi -- 115 1/3; career high: 129 2/3 (2022, in Double-A)
Logan Allen -- 144 1/3 (new career high)
Parker Messick -- 128 (between Triple-A and MLB); career high: 133 2/3 (2024, between High-A and Double-A)
Joey Cantillo (who opened the season in Cleveland’s bullpen) has thrown 101 2/3 innings this season between the Majors and Triple-A Columbus. His career high is 119 1/3, set in the Minors in 2023.

The starters are getting extra rest, and they seem to be building momentum off each other, too.

“I was joking around,” Messick said. “[The other starters] were like, ‘We'll take seven shutout tonight. And I was like, ‘Yeah, the standard is almost like eight or nine right now.’ But I'll take a quality start every time I walk out there. It’s so fun.

“These guys set the standard high, and when they go out there, we're expecting each one of us to go out there and have a great outing.”

Messick lowered his ERA to 1.84 through five starts by holding the White Sox to one run on seven hits and one walk over six innings.

The Guardians are discussing what they’ll do after Monday. They’ll have 13 games remaining in the regular season, and the off-day offers them a chance to manipulate the rotation order heading into a three-game series against the Tigers.

They could realign it to ensure that Tanner Bibee (who’s putting together a strong September) and Gavin Williams pitch on normal rest vs. Detroit; the series opener is Tuesday. Bibee’s last start was Friday and Williams’ was on Thursday.

Another factor to consider: How could John Means potentially factor into the equation? Vogt reiterated Saturday that priority No. 1 is Means getting through his rehab assignment healthy, in his comeback from Tommy John surgery, before they consider how he could fit into the staff. Means has made five rehab starts to this point.

The Guardians are already talking through what’s to come.

“We're still talking through some ideas, but obviously we're pointed towards the last 12 days, right?” Vogt said pregame Saturday. “We’ve got two games we’ve got to get through first and see how we come out of it. But here we go. … We're going to talk through all the different options of what we might do.”