CLEVELAND (Interstat) — For eight innings, Parker Messick authored a masterpiece of pitching dominance, flirting with history in his 11th major league start. The Cleveland Guardians’ rookie left-hander took a no-hitter into the ninth, setting the tone for a 4-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday night at Progressive Field.

Messick’s bid for a historic feat was broken up by a pair of singles to open the final frame, but his career-best outing was more than enough to anchor the Guardians’ series-opening win before a crowd of 14,748. The victory improved Cleveland to 11-9 as it opened a seven-game homestand, while Baltimore fell to 9-10.

The most critical sequence of the game came not in the tense ninth, but in the very first inning, setting a narrative that would hold for nearly the entire contest. After Baltimore’s Shane Baz worked a scoreless top half, Cleveland’s offense struck immediately in the bottom of the frame. Following a strikeout and a walk, star third baseman José Ramírez connected on a two-run homer, his fourth of the season, launching a fly ball to right-center field. The blast, Ramírez’s third in four games, provided Messick with an early cushion and all the runs he would appear to need.

From there, Messick (3-0) was in complete command. He faced just one batter over the minimum through eight dazzling innings, mixing his pitches to keep a potent Orioles lineup utterly off balance. He recorded nine strikeouts, inducing weak contact and benefiting from two double plays turned behind him. Baltimore’s only baserunner through eight innings came on a leadoff walk to Taylor Ward in the first, who was promptly erased on a double play in the sixth.

Cleveland added insurance against Baz (0-2) in the middle innings. In the fifth, shortstop Brayan Rocchio doubled with two outs and scored on a sharp RBI single by Steven Kwan, a play the Orioles unsuccessfully challenged at the plate. An inning later, Ramírez walked, advanced to third on a Kyle Manzardo single, and scored on George Valera’s line-drive single to left, stretching the lead to 4-0.

Baz departed after six innings, charged with four runs on six hits while striking out six. The Guardians’ eight hits were spread throughout the lineup, with Ramírez, Kwan and Valera each collecting two, with Valera and Kwan each driving in a run.

The story, however, remained Messick’s pursuit of a no-hitter. He carried it through the eighth, with the only tense moment coming on a soft pop-up by Valera in the fourth that second baseman Jeremiah Jackson could not secure, ruled a single. That was Cleveland’s only hit until the ninth.

In the ninth, the Orioles finally broke through. Leody Taveras led off with a ground ball that sneaked past diving second baseman Juan Brito into right field for Baltimore’s first hit. Blaze Alexander followed with a line-drive single to center, ending Messick’s night after 108 pitches. He received a standing ovation as he handed the ball to manager Stephen Vogt.

Reliever Cade Smith entered to try and secure Messick’s win. Taylor Ward greeted him with an RBI single, scoring Taveras. After a Gunnar Henderson sacrifice fly plated another run, Pete Alonso ripped an RBI double to right, cutting the deficit to 4-2 and bringing the tying run to the plate. Smith, however, settled in, getting Colton Cowser to fly out sharply to center and Samuel Basallo to ground out to second, securing his fourth save of the season and preserving the win for Messick.

The late rally accounted for all of Baltimore’s four hits and two runs. Baltimore relievers Cameron Foster and Tyler Wells combined for two scoreless innings to keep the game within reach.

The game defied several pregame projections. Interstat’s game simulator had projected a 6-5 Cleveland win, while its ELO system gave the Guardians a 58% probability to win. Baltimore had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5, and the total score of six runs went under the over/under line of 8.

Messick’s stellar performance continues an impressive start to his 2026 campaign. In his previous outing on April 11, he threw 6 2/3 scoreless innings in a win at Atlanta, and on April 5, he earned a victory over the Chicago Cubs at home.

The Orioles, coming off a series loss at home to Arizona, will look to even the series Friday night in the second game of the four-game set. The Guardians, who took two of three in St. Louis before dropping the series finale Wednesday, aim to build momentum as they continue their homestand.