Cleveland Guardians (2) at Chicago White Sox (6), 8:00 PM ET

CLE: Parker Messick (12-9, 2.56 ERA, 77 DRA-)
CHW: Hagen Smith (3-3, 1.29 ERA, 79 DRA-)

Messick returns to the mound on four days’ rest, looking to keep Cleveland’s season alive. He pitched well in Game 1, allowing a pair of runs on four hits over 4 ⅓ innings, though he did give up more than his usual allotment of hard contact. It wasn’t enough, but then, nothing would have been enough, since the Guardians were blanked by Hagen Smith and Grant Taylor. Smith did throw 21 pitches in Game 3, so he may not be able to offer the eight outs he provided in his first outing, but Grant Taylor should be nice and rested for the sixth through ninth, if Will Venable decides to pull that bit of insanity again.

Messick’s changeup was deadly last time out, but his sinker wasn’t fooling anyone at all. If that continues today, it means he’ll have to be very cautious with Chicago’s lefty-heavy lineup, especially since he didn’t seem to be able to wield his secondary slider as a chase pitch, only getting it out of the zone twice. The White Sox were an average team against sub-95 mph fastballs this year—one point off the league wOBA—but it’s also a wOBA (.360) you’d prefer not to be averaging if you’re a starter with any alternatives.

As for the White Sox, they don’t have starters. They don’t believe in starters. Let’s move along.