AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: GUARDIANS VS RAYS

October 12, 2026

Stephen Vogt

Tropicana Field

Cleveland Guardians

Pregame 1 Press Conference

Q. Do you have a Game 2 starter?

STEPHEN VOGT: Parker Messick will start tomorrow.

Q. What went into that decision, and I guess physically how did he respond to the short start in Chicago?

STEPHEN VOGT: Yeah, he's feeling good on normal rest obviously, but before we could confirm it we wanted to see how he felt yesterday.

Again, we asked a lot of our entire pitching staff the last series. So we just want to be mindful of these guys as they're working. But Parker feels ready to go tomorrow.

Q. How have you seen Parker handle starting in his hometown in the past? And how do you think he'll handle it on a bigger stage tomorrow?

STEPHEN VOGT: He's had two straight very good starts here in front of his family and friends. It's always a special boost when you get to play at home as a player. The people who helped you get to where you are, you get to go perform for them. And there's always a little extra juice.

Sometimes it can be good, sometimes it can be bad. But for somebody who, like Parker, who's the ultimate competitor and is prepared, he's put in two very good performances here in Tampa.

Q. The fact that you're starting two lefties in the first two games, does that say something about trying to keep the speed in Chandler Simpson on the bench?

STEPHEN VOGT: I don't think it has anything to do with that. This is who we have. We have -- three of our five starters are left-handed. It's just how it lined up.

Q. I know we've asked you a lot about José Ramírez. He was hot in late September there. I think he had 12 hits the final nine games and then the last three games. Was he feeling better physically? Did he lock in? Can you explain a little bit more why he kind of has done what he's done, besides being José?

STEPHEN VOGT: I think there's no secret -- the further away from the surgery, the better he's going to feel. But José also steps up when we need him. And I think down the stretch in the last three games, there's an element to players of that caliber just do it when they need to.

But I think as we get further away from the injury and the surgery, I think José's just going to continue to feel better and better.

Q. Knowing how evenly matched these teams are and how similar they are in their styles, what do you see as the separators, or what's most important for your club to try and win this series?

STEPHEN VOGT: I think a lot of it is just going to come down to straight execution on all aspects. I know that's a really cliché answer. But they put a lot of pressure on the defense, we put a lot of pressure on the defense with the way both teams run the bases, put the ball in play.

So, again, I think a lot of it is going to come down to defensive execution. But obviously on the mound, making pitches and not allowing the big hit to happen, because there's going to be traffic on both sides. A lot of it is just going to be limiting the damage and not giving the other team extra outs.

Q. Cantillo was just in here. Is there a chance that we might see him in Game 2 after Parker?

STEPHEN VOGT: Joey is available out of the bullpen tonight. You could see Joey tonight. You're going to see Joey throw in this series, for sure.

And, again, we haven't worked out the rest of the rotation. We don't know how that's going to go. We don't know how tonight's going to go. But Joey's available to pitch, and he's going to pitch a lot in this series.

Q. Was Slade for Schneemann just as simple as it's a longer series, you guys felt like you needed more coverage down there?

STEPHEN VOGT: Yeah, just with seven games in nine days, having that 13th pitcher was really important to us. And with Slade's ability to -- he could throw a short stint, he can throw up to 40, 50 pitches -- just having that weapon in the bullpen felt really important for this series.

Q. How much in disbelief were you when José hit that ball literally off the ground into the stands and you guys have a 2-0 lead?

STEPHEN VOGT: Yeah, when José hit that ball and the way Gavin was throwing, we felt pretty good about the rest of the way. But it was just another signature moment for José Ramírez with the Cleveland organization, franchise.

You never feel good with a two-run lead. I think you'd like a little bit more, but in that moment, it felt pretty, pretty good.