Plant City's Parker Messick doesn't allow an earned run, but takes Game 2 loss

Sports admin October 14, 2026 0 Comments

Plant City’s Parker Messick doesn’t allow an earned run, but takes Game 2 loss

Parker Messick knows, perhaps as well as anyone, that good pitching does not always produce victories for the visiting team at Tropicana Field.

Messick, who grew up in Plant City and played at Florida State, was 7 years old when he packed into St. Petersburg’s tilted dome to watch the Rays earn their first World Series win.

Only one run in that 4-2 victory over the Phillies in 2008 was batted in by a base hit. Two scored on groundouts, one to the second baseman, the other to the shortstop, and the Tampa Bay’s final run came on a sacrifice bunt down the first-base line, a squeeze executed with precision.

Messick returned to the Trop 18 years later in July, this time as a Guardian amidst a stellar season in his first full major-league campaign. He allowed one earned run, no walks and struck out six in 7 2/3 innings but Cleveland lost, 1-0. Chandler Simpson scored the only run. He singled, advanced to second on a wild pitch, took third on a groundout and scored on a sacrifice bunt. Messick was good, but Drew Rasmussen, who allowed one hit over seven shutout innings, was better.

Tuesday night, then, must have felt familiar for the left-hander.

Messick pitched five innings without allowing an earned run, a performance just about any manager or fan would cherish in an American League Championship game, particularly on the road. But the ALCS is now tied 1-1 after the Rays beat Cleveland, 3-1. Messick was formidable, but Freddy Peralta was on fire.

The Rays reached against Messick in each of the game’s first three innings, but he managed to keep the game scoreless.

“Kept the pitch count down, got through five (innings) and just whatever happened, happened,” he said, adding that he felt he improved on his previous two postseason starts against the White Sox.

Messick struck out Victor Mesa Jr. after Junior Caminero doubled with two outs in the first inning, avoiding the Rays’ signature two-out rally, at least temporarily. Mesa, an emergent lefty who delivered a signature moment at Yankee Stadium against southpaw Max Fried, waved and missed on a changeup after fouling off two fastballs and a sinker.

Jonny DeLuca started the bottom of the second inning with an infield single, but Messick erased the threat with a sinker that Simpson grounded into a tailor-made double play, a rarity for the speedy, base-stealing outfielder.

Liam Hicks and Taylor Walls singled to lead off the bottom of the third, and Yandy Diaz worked himself to a favorable 3-1 count with no outs. Again, Messick generated a groundball and a double play.

It was the fourth inning, which Messick started by walking Caminero, when the game unraveled for the Guardians. Messick appeared to have made the pitches necessary to neutralize the threat, but the Rays’ speed and a rare mistake from Cleveland’s star kept him pitching with runners on.

Mesa narrowly avoided a third Tampa Bay double play by legging out a ground ball before advancing to third base on a Simpson infield single. Ben Williamson’s ground ball to third baseman Jose Ramirez should have again ended a Rays rally without a run regardless.

But in a moment reminiscent to the error made by Yankees third basemen Ryan McMahon in Game 2 of the AL Division Series, a routine groundout instead went the Rays’ way. Ramirez recognized the play with plenty of time, positioned himself completely behind the ball as it skipped toward him, then whiffed as he went to secure it into his glove. Mesa scored, Simpson advanced to third, and Williamson reached second base standing up.

“It’s a little bit faster here on this type of surface. I was playing parallel to the base and the ball bounced right on the edge between the dirt and the turf, so that’s what made it more difficult for me,” Ramirez said via Guardians interpreter Agustin Rivero. “It’s frustrating. Nobody is perfect but I still feel bad because obviously I wasn’t able to do it and after that the runs came down.”

On the next pitch, Hicks laced a line drive to right-centerfield to give Tampa Bay a 3-0 lead it would not relinquish. An 89-mph slider was the only pivotal pitch Messick failed to execute. He gave Hicks credit for a good swing, but lamented he was unable to do his part after Ramirez’s mistake.

“You just got to keep pitching. My job there was to try and limit the damage, even after the errors and whatever plays,” Messick said. “My job’s (to) try and leave (the scoring) at one. Unfortunately, I failed to do that.”

Despite the loss, he remembered the opportunity to pitch in his hometown stadium in a playoff game positively.

“It’s incredible every time,” Messick said. “I always have a big cheering section, and I always recognize some people around the stadium when I’m warming up, so it’s always fun.”

• • •

Sign up for our Sports Today newsletter to get daily updates on the Bucs, Rays, Lightning and college football across Florida.

Every weekday, tune into our Sports Day Tampa Bay podcast to hear reporter Rick Stroud break down the biggest stories in Tampa Bay sports.

Never miss out on the latest with your favorite Tampa Bay sports teams. Follow our coverage on X and Facebook.

This story was originally published October 14, 2026 at 12:50 AM.