We are just three weeks away from the end of the season. While that is extremely sad, the Guardians gave us fans plenty to be happy about and excited for this week.
Tampa Bay Takedown
The goal of any series is to sweep the opposing team, but taking three of four is just about as good. That’s exactly what the Guardians did in Tampa Bay this weekend. While they couldn’t back a near-immaculate performance by the bullpen after starter Logan Allen gave up four runs, they turned the tide for the next three games. Behind a seven-inning,
one-run appearance by Gavin Williams, the Guardians took the lead after a five-run second inning and never looked back. They took game two 7-1. Saturday saw a close game conclude in Cleveland’s favor, with a 3-2 win over the Rays, thanks to another stellar performance from Hunter Gaddis and Cade Smith in the bullpen. It was a similar story in Sunday’s finale, a 2-1 victory thanks to a big day from Angel Martinez and the two in the ‘pen. It seems like this team is heating up at the perfect time, and with a few big series against the Kansas City Royals and a (hopefully) easy one against the Chicago White Sox, we’re gonna need them to.
Messick Has Another Big Day
Sunday marked perhaps the most important day of newcomer Parker Messick’s career so far. With over 200 friends and family filling George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida, Messick took the mound and led the Guards to a 2-1 victory over the Rays. Messick grew up just one hour away in Plant City, so it was a no-brainer for his biggest supporters to drive to Tampa to do just that. In front of those 200, Messick went six innings, giving up eight hits and just one run while striking out four. He is arguably the one to thank for this win, as the offense scored only two runs. His ERA sits at just 1.93 through his first four Major League starts, and he is proving to be exactly what this team needed heading into the final stretch of the season.
New Guardians Podcast
I will admit, this one is sort of a shameless self-promo. Monday, September 1st marked the first episode of a brand new Cleveland Guardians podcast. While there are plenty of amazing Guardians podcasts already out there, there are none quite like Caught Lookin’. Started by @shuddupmeg on Twitter, Caught Lookin’ is a podcast by women and non-binary Guardians fans and is just plain fun. Released weekly on Mondays, the pod covers everything from game highlights to baseball cards and whatever else the rotating cast wants to chat about in the world of Guards Ball. Be sure to catch up on last week’s debut episode, and look out for today’s drop if you would like to hear from yours truly.
