CLEVELAND — First-year Cleveland Guardians pitcher Parker Messick is on the verge of baseball history, holding the Baltimore Orioles without a hit through eight complete innings Thursday evening.
The 25-year-old southpaw has issued two walks while recording nine strikeouts, tying his personal best, across 106 pitches with 73 finding the strike zone. Cleveland holds a commanding 4-0 advantage as the game heads to the ninth.
Should Messick complete the feat, it would mark the first major league no-hitter since September 4, 2024, when Shota Imanaga and two Chicago Cubs relief pitchers combined to shut out Pittsburgh 12-0.
Thursday’s outing represents the deepest Messick has ever pitched in his young career. His previous longest appearance came last season when he threw seven scoreless frames against Tampa Bay.
The Guardians organization has endured the longest current drought between no-hitters in Major League Baseball. Their last one occurred on May 15, 1981, when Len Barker threw a perfect game against Toronto.
Cleveland has come tantalizingly close in recent years. Carlos Carrasco pitched 8⅔ hitless innings against Tampa Bay on July 1, 2015, while Gavin Williams carried a no-hitter through 8⅓ innings last August 6 versus the New York Mets.
Carrasco came within a single strike of completing his bid when Rays outfielder Joey Butler connected on an 0-2 slider that barely escaped the reach of diving Cleveland second baseman Jason Kipnis.
Juan Soto ended Williams’ attempt with a home run to center field.
Messick has faced just one batter beyond the minimum tonight. After walking leadoff man Taylor Ward, he retired the following 15 batters in succession. Ward hit a deep fly ball to center in the third that Steven Kwan hauled in at the warning track, while José Ramírez made an impressive defensive play on a Coby Mayo ground ball deep in the hole at third to close the fifth.
Though Messick walked Leody Taveras to open the sixth inning, Ward immediately grounded into a double play to end the threat.
Ramírez contributed another stellar defensive moment, making a spectacular catch in foul territory to retire Samuel Basallo leading off the eighth.
This marks Messick’s 11th career major league start. Selected 54th overall in the 2022 amateur draft from Florida State University, he made his big league debut last season.
Entering tonight’s contest, Messick carried a 5-1 career record with a 2.04 earned run average. He had posted a 2-0 mark with a 0.51 ERA through his first three starts this season.
Cleveland has provided offensive support with Ramírez’s two-run homer in the opening inning, plus RBI singles from Kwan in the fifth and George Valera in the sixth.
