The Cleveland Guardians moved into 1st place in the American League Central Division on Wednesday, September 16.
On a sunny afternoon, the Guardians won the rubber match of a crucial three game battle with the Chicago White Sox for first place, with a convincing, 6-3 victory.
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The game was played if front of 23,336 fans at Progressive Field in Cleveland.
As mlb.com pointed out, the Guardians hadn’t been in first place in the Central Division since they beat the same White Sox on July 4, 2026.
Left-handed rookie Parker Messick, who is having a fantastic season, gained the victory. Messick improved to .12-9 on the season, with a sparkling 2.57 ERA.
There were plenty of accolades to go around following Cleveland’s victory, but centerfielder Petey Halpin may get the largest bouquet.
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It was Halpin’s 3-run homer off White Sox reliever Sean Newcomb that turned the game and momentum around for Cleveland.
At the time the left-handed hitting Halpin, 24, stepped to the plate in the 5th inning, the Guardians were trailing the White Sox, 3-2.
It was the biggest single moment in rookie Halpin’s young career.
Ironically, Guardians manager Stephen Vogt may have had designs on pinch-hitting for Halpin, as he may not have wanted the left-handed swinging Halpin to face the lefty, Newcomb.
But Vogt stuck with Halpin, and White Sox manager Will Venable stuck with Newcomb.
The rest is history.
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The Guardians went on to score a 4th run in the inning, and Messick and three relievers shut down the explosive White Sox the rest of the game.
cbssports.com notes that Messick now has 14 quality starts for the season.
A quality start occurs when a starting pitcher goes at least 6 innings, yielding 3 or less runs.
Messick has been magnificent.
For example, in his last six starts, covering a total of 36 innings, Messick has yielded 10 earned runs, has struck out 44, and has won four of the six games.
Messick pitches with a quick pace, and uses his tremendous rhythm to keep focused.
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As noted by brooksbasesball.net, Messick uses a very complete repertoire of a four-seam fastball, a sinker, a slider, a changeup, a cutter, and a curveball in his arsenal.
Messick has a knack for keeping the hitter off balance, and changing his eye level.
Messick has helped a Cleveland Guardians rotation that may have been showing some signs of fatigues recently.
The Guardians bullpen has been a strength of the club all season.
In the game September 16, these three relievers came in and shut down the powerful White Sox bats:
Evan Gaddis-RHP=1 inning, 1 hit, no runs
Eric Sabrowski-LHP-0.2 inning, no hits, no runs, two walks
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Cade Smith-RHP (closer) 1.1 innings, no hits, no runs, two strikeouts
Smith earned his 37th save in the game. He trails only the Tampa Bay Rays Bryan Baker for the most American League saves.
Cleveland Guardians icon, Jose Ramirez has been negatively impacted in his game by lingering pain from hamate bone surgery.
Ramirez has been hitting and playing in pain, and his impact on the offense has been minimal.
Until September 16.
Ramirez had two loud, ringing doubles, one of which drove in a run.
If Ramirez gets his swing back, and impacts a baseball as he did September 16, the Guardians will have a major weapon back on offense.
Adell had a big base hit to drive in two runs in the game.
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Since arriving in Cleveland in a trade with the Los Angeles Angels, Adell has hit nine doubles, and six home runs. He has driven in 28 runs.
Adell has provided the Guardians with much needed power from the right side of the plate, which had been missing most of the season.
Adell has played outstanding defense in both right and left fields, and his contributions to the Guardians 1st place position in the American League Central must not be denied.
The Cleveland Guardians bats may have awakened.
The Cleveland Guardians now hold sole possession of 1st place in the American League Central Division. A true team effort, with lots of stars contributing, paved the way for that lofty position on a tough victory against the Chicago White Sox on September 16.
This article was originally published on Forbes.com
