Petey Halpin’s unlikely home run pushes Guardians to top of AL Central

Economy World


CLEVELAND — There’s a new move sweeping Progressive Field, and it begins with a bat and every bit of strength in your bones.

Launch a baseball into orbit, backpedal toward first base, drop your bat — usually with a tinge of attitude — and stare.

It’s not admiring your work. It’s admiring those in the home dugout who are admiring your work. They’re losing their minds, and you’re marveling at the chaos. Don’t crack a smile. Don’t utter a word. Just watch.

Watch them clutch onto the navy-padded dugout railing to vault themselves into the air. Watch them shout profanity-laced words of encouragement. Watch Parker Messick slam the Gatorade cooler. Watch them locate the Medieval Times knight helmet to place upon your head upon returning from a well-earned lap in the limelight.

Petey Halpin, one of the unlikeliest candidates to supply such a move, delivered the most consequential hack this season for the Cleveland Guardians, his three-run blast Wednesday shifting the balance of power in the AL Central. The Guardians’ 6-3 win vaulted them into first place in the division for the first time since the morning of July 4.

Halpin pummeled a middle-in sinker, briefly studied its flight, then peered at his dugout and savored the moment and all of the electricity of a mid-September playoff push.

“Seeing 27 guys and staff — I just want to feel that,” Halpin said. “I want to have that energy. That’s the best part.”

Two months ago, after his first big-league homer, Halpin returned to the dugout and slapped hitting coach Grant Fink in the face to complete a bit that carried a months-long buildup. The two share a hype-up ritual that involves the teacher slapping the pupil, and they agreed that whenever Halpin hit one out, he could return the favor. The only smack Wednesday was Halpin’s bat walloping Sean Newcomb’s 94-mph sinker. (Though, Halpin did volunteer after the game to slap Fink again if he was up for it.)

The Guardians have plenty of work remaining if they’re to win their third consecutive division title and potentially snag a first-round bye on the cushy side of the AL playoff bracket. The White Sox can erase their half-game deficit with a win against the Detroit Tigers on Thursday, and Chicago holds the tiebreaker if there’s a tie atop the division once the teams reach the finish. The Guardians’ path to October is much smoother if they can hang on to win the division, though, considering they don’t own the tiebreaker against the Houston Astros, Texas Rangers or Toronto Blue Jays, either.

  • Guardians remaining games: three vs. Athletics, three at Boston Red Sox, three at Kansas City Royals
  • White Sox remaining games: four vs. Tigers, three at Royals, three vs. Colorado Rockies

This series carried something of a playoff feel. Messick has been itching to pitch in this environment since he joined the Guardians for their September surge last season. He wriggled out of harm in the first inning Wednesday and asked his pitching coaches if he was working at a proper pace. He’s the pitching equivalent of listening to a podcast at 2.0x speed. He wanted to make sure an uptick in adrenaline wasn’t causing him to rush.

As he has all season, though, Messick delivered a start worthy of a Guardians win. He has exceeded his career-high workload by 40 innings, yet he hasn’t exhibited any signs of fatigue. As he pointed out Wednesday, he “was throwing 97-mph bullets” in start No. 30. In fact, his fastball velocity has increased each month this season. His average of 95.6 mph Wednesday was his second-highest this season. Perhaps the magnitude of the game had something to do with it.

Messick made one mistake, which Tommy Pham deposited into the left-field bleachers for a three-run homer, but otherwise pitched like a guy whose name will surface on many AL Rookie of the Year and AL Cy Young Award ballots.

“He needs to be in those conversations,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “It’s real. What he’s doing is real.”

Halpin quickly made the lone Messick slip-up a footnote. He said it was the most momentous swing of his life. Entering the game, Halpin was 1-for-35 this season against left-handed pitching, but with Chase DeLauter and Angel Martínez nursing injuries, Halpin stood at home plate at a critical juncture. He then whacked one to the seats and watched his teammates go berserk as he began his trot around the bases.

“You want to be with them in that moment and not be focused on, like, how cool your bat flip looks,” said Travis Bazzana, who celebrated a game-tying homer in the same fashion two weeks ago against the Tigers. “You get the big hit and you see their excitement; it fires you up.

“That is the best feeling.”