Slade Cecconi came within six outs of throwing a no-hitter in his last start for the Cleveland Guardians.
The visiting Chicago White Sox will test their luck against him on Sunday afternoon.
Chicago’s Yoendrys Gomez (3-2, 5.05 ERA) will oppose fellow right-hander Cecconi (6-6, 4.45) in the three-game-series finale that also will wrap up a seven-game homestand for Cleveland.
The Guardians (77-71) have won eight of their last nine games to remain in the American League wild-card chase, 3 1/2 games out of the third and final spot. Cleveland has lined up one strong start after another following the trade of former ace Shane Bieber to the Toronto Blue Jays.
Parker Messick will pass the baton to Cecconi after he picked up his third straight victory to start his career Saturday, working six innings of one-run ball in Cleveland’s 3-1 win.
“Before the game, the guys said they would take seven shutout innings from me,” said Messick, who is 3-0 with a 1.84 ERA through five starts. “I joked that the standard is almost eight or nine shutout innings now, but I would try my best.”
Since fully adopting a six-man rotation on Sept. 3, Guardians pitchers have a 9-2 record and league-low 1.56 ERA over 98 innings. All nine wins have occurred when Cleveland’s staff allows fewer than four runs.
Cecconi has faced the White Sox once, allowing five runs in three innings to take the road loss on Aug. 10. The defeat came in an ongoing nine-start span that has seen him go 1-2 with a 5.19 ERA but includes his eight-inning scoreless win over the Kansas City Royals on Monday. He gave up one hit in a 10-2 victory.
Said Messick: “You’re not going to have your best stuff every time out there, so it’s our job to adjust. It’s like they say, everyone has a plan until you get punched in the mouth. Different guys have different plans, so you’ve got to adjust.”
The White Sox (57-92) arrived in Cleveland feeling good as winners of nine of their previous 11 games, making them 25-25 since the All-Star break and putting them in good position to avoid another 100-loss season.
Two straight defeats to the Guardians have blunted their momentum. Chicago has 10 total hits while being outscored 7-1 by its longtime nemesis.
Emerging second baseman Lenyn Sosa drove in their lone run in the first inning Saturday, but it didn’t stop the youthful White Sox from losing to Cleveland for the 10th time in 12 meetings this season.
“We understand this is the longest season that most of our guys have ever played,” Chicago manager Will Venable said. “Their bodies hurt in ways they haven’t experienced before. It’s another thing they need to go through in getting used to being a major leaguer.”
Leadoff hitter Chase Meidroth improbably has gotten stronger, with a .484 average during his nine-game hitting streak. The 24-year-old shortstop’s 107 hits are the most by a White Sox rookie since Eloy Jimenez in 2019.
Gomez tossed three innings of one-run relief against the Guardians on April 21 while with the New York Yankees, the first of three teams he has pitched for in 2025. It was his only career appearance against Cleveland.
–Field Level Media
