Cleveland

Guardians

Parker Messick will get some extra rest after throwing a scoreless second inning in the All-Star Game. He’ll presumably face the Twins or Monday or Tuesday, with Slade Cecconi starting the other game.

Arias had a solid day at the plate, starting with a base hit and a stolen base in the second inning. He then singled, stole a base, and scored a run in the fourth before collecting his third hit to lead off the sixth. The 26-year-old infielder is hitting .239/.280/.432 with five homers and three steals across 93 plate appearances.

Cade Smith got the day off after pitching in three straight games. It was Holderman who was summoned with a three-run lead in the ninth. He pitched a clean inning to get the job done, converting his first save.

Bibee was solid on Saturday, holding the Marlins scoreless through six innings. He returned for the seventh and gave up a double with two outs. That would do it for him at 94 pitches with three strikeouts. He scattered five hits and four walks. The inherited runner would come in to score. The 27-year-old right-hander ends the first half with a 3.90 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, and an 87/34 K/BB ratio across 113 innings.

You don’t typically see guys who post an ERA above 5.00 in their college career get drafted in the middle of the first round, but Peterson’s an exception. The 21-year-old also struck out 102 hitters in his 84 1/3 innings with the Gator, and he shows three pitches that can miss bats including a slider that gets double-plus grades. Peterson’s command needs a ton of work, but the Guardians have done wonders with this type of profile in the past. If they can get him to locate better, Peterson has the type of stuff that you see from starters who pitch near the top of a rotation.

DeLauter opened the scoring in the ballgame with his 430-foot (106.4-mph EV) two-run shot off of Marlins’ right-hander Sandy Alcantara in the fourth inning. He also singled in the contest. With his two-hit attack, the 24-year-old rookie sensation is now slashing .282/.347/.447 with 10 homers, 45 RBI and three stolen bases in 323 plate appearances on the season.

Hedges singled in the fifth inning and ultimately came around to score on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Travis Bazzana. The 33-year-old backstop has been unexpectedly productive at the plate this season, slashing a healthy .289/.348/.414 with three homers, 14 RBI and a stolen base in 145 plate appearances.

Smith didn’t mess around in this one, needing just nine pitches (seven strikes) to retire the side in order — getting Liam Hicks on a fly ball to right, Griffin Conine on a pop out to second base and Jakob Marsee on a fly ball to left field to end it. The 27-year-old closer now boasts a 2.70 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and a 61/11 K/BB ratio over 43 1/3 innings while converting 28 of his first 31 save chances.

Messick also issued four walks on the evening while striking out one. He carried a no-hit bid into the sixth inning where Heriberto Hernández tagged him for a solo home run. That would be the only hit that he would allow. He generated eight swings and misses on 91 pitches on the night, registering a CSW of 23 percent. The 25-year-old southpaw wraps up a brilliant first half with an 8-5 record, 2.73 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and a 110/36 K/BB ratio over 112 innings through his first 19 starts.

Smith struck out two and didn’t allow a baserunner. The 27-year-old now has 27 saves in his first year as a full-time closer and looks every bit the part of one of the best closers in the league.