On Jan. 21, 2023, injured minor leaguer George Valera went on his social media accounts and posted, “I can’t wait to bring a championship to Cleveland.”
His teammate at the time was Brayan Rocchio, who immediately replied, “I’ll be there with you. We will brother.”
Fast forward to the present as Valera and Rocchio are playing key secondary roles in the Cleveland Guardians’ push for the postseason. The Guardians will look to take another step closer to their goal on Thursday when they wrap up a three-game series against the visiting Detroit Tigers.
Cleveland will send rookie left-hander Parker Messick (3-0, 2.08 ERA) to the mound Thursday, Detroit has yet to announce a starting pitcher as of Thursday morning.
The American League Central-leading Guardians (86-72) are one game in front of the Tigers (85-73) with four games remaining in the regular season. Cleveland owns the head-to-head tiebreaker.
“To be here now, this is the best moment of my life right now,” said Valera, who made his major-league debut on Sept. 1 after spending eight years in the minors.
“I’ve been watching Cleveland since the 2016 playoffs (that team lost the World Series to the Chicago Cubs in seven games) and I just want them to come again.”
Valera, 24, belted his first homer in Cleveland on Wednesday, a two-run shot that put the Guardians ahead in a 5-1 victory over Detroit. It was his second home run in three starts and raised his average to .242 through 13 games.
Close friend Rocchio scored on the play and remained emotional about it several hours later, when they spoke with the media together. He too, overcame adversity in 2025, being demoted to Triple-A Columbus in May.
“The moment to me, it was so special,” Rocchio said, reaching over to congratulate Valera. “We grew up together and we’ve played together since I was 17 years old. Now, he’s healthy and I’m so happy for him.”
Cleveland has won 17 of its last 19 games, including all five thus far against Detroit this month. The Guardians have erased what was a 15 1/2-game deficit to the Tigers on July 8.
Messick, who will pitch against Detroit for the first time in his career, has worked into the sixth inning in five of his six starts since debuting on Aug. 20.
The free-falling Tigers have lost eight in a row and 11 of their last 12 but reside in the third and final AL wild-card position. They hold a one-game lead over the Houston Astros (84-74) and own the tiebreaker.
“It’s painful what’s been happening,” Detroit manager A.J. Hinch said. “I’m having a hard time coming up with words. What I’m seeing out of our team is not normal. But unfortunately, it’s our reality.”
The Tigers are expected to recall a starter from Triple-A Toledo after reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal and Jack Flaherty both lost and combined for 10 1/3 innings over the first two games.
Detroit used eight relievers to cover the other 5 2/3 frames, including closer Will Vest in the seventh inning Wednesday, to get through the contests. Though the minor league season is complete, the Tigers have 15 players working out in Toledo for potential use.
“We’ve got to sort it out,” Hinch said. “It’s going to be a long night.”
–Field Level Media
