The Guardians will pair left-hander Parker Messick with catcher Patrick Bailey for Game 5 of the ALCS, per MLB.com's Tim Stebbins. His headline says the choice keeps Bailey's hot bat in the lineup. The feed summary doesn't include any quotes or lineup details beyond that, so we can't say who made the call or how it was explained.
Bailey's October numbers fit the description. He is 9-for-27 (.333) this month with two homers and three RBI, according to our splits. That is well above his regular season, when he hit .206 with 10 home runs and 37 RBI. His career-best average in our archive is .234, in 2024. He has also hit .263 against Tampa Bay this year (5-for-19, one homer).
Messick gives Cleveland a steady starter to build the plan around. He went 12-9 with a 2.56 ERA and 193 strikeouts in 186.1 innings this year, his first full season. The right-hander on the other side is Tampa Bay's Drew Rasmussen, per Al Yellon's preview at Bleed Cubbie Blue. Rasmussen was 16-5 with a 2.67 ERA and 174 strikeouts in 172.0 innings. First pitch is 4 p.m. CT on TBS, with Brian Anderson, Jeff Francoeur, Ron Darling and Lauren Shehadi on the call, per Yellon.
The series is level after the Rays won 7-3 on Saturday night. Cleveland took Thursday's game 3-2 at home, and Tampa Bay won Game 1 by 3-1. ESPN's preview frames Game 5 as a chance for either club to get one win from the World Series. Yellon notes that Saturday's result guarantees a Game 6 back in Florida. Friday's rainout means that game is Monday, with no travel day.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TB | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 11 | 0 |
| CLE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 2 |
The records show how close these teams have been in the playoffs despite a big gap in the regular season. Tampa Bay won 98 games and the AL East, while Cleveland won the AL Central at 85-77. Both clubs enter Game 5 on a one-game losing streak, so whichever one wins will leave with the momentum.
The winner of Game 5 will be one win away from the pennant. The loser will have to win Games 6 and 7 to advance. Game 6 is at Tampa Bay on Monday, Oct. 19, and Game 7, if it is needed, is there on Tuesday, Oct. 20.
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