MLB Plays for Monday, April 27: Get with the Guardians

Tampa Bay is rolling into its upcoming series in Cleveland, having won four straight and coming off a three-game sweep at home against the Minnesota Twins.

The Guardians did not fare as well in their previous series, dropping two of three in Toronto against the Blue Jays.

There is reason for optimism in Cleveland's dugout, though, as Parker Messick takes the mound in an attempt to flip the momentum.

The 25-year-old left-hander has been terrific so far this season, posting a 3-0 record with a 1.76 ERA, 2.54 FIP, a 48.6% ground-ball rate and a 4.2% HR/FB rate through five starts.

Tampa Bay's offense has been decent against lefties in April, ranking 13th in both wRC+ (104) and OPS (.730), but it lacks power, sitting 23rd in ISO (.111). The Rays have shown some improvement over the past couple of weeks, but nothing overly significant.

Cleveland's offense, on the other hand, has been far more impressive against southpaws. In April, the Guardians rank fifth in wRC+ (112), seventh in OPS (.763) and ninth in ISO (.167). Over the past couple of weeks, those numbers have climbed to a 137 wRC+ (fourth), .858 OPS (fourth) and .184 ISO (10th).

Can the Cardinals avoid their fifth straight loss? Despite the skid, the glass-half-full view is that they have dropped those four games by a combined seven runs.

Now, they head to Pittsburgh for a divisional matchup.

The Pirates fell 5-0 to the Brewers on Sunday, but took the first two games of that series and should carry some confidence back home.

It looks like it will be a bullpen game for Pittsburgh on Monday. Left-hander Mason Montgomery is expected to open, and he has not allowed a run over his last seven appearances. Across 12 outings this season, he has made one start and has not recorded more than 1.1 innings in any appearance.

He will likely hand things off to Wiber Dotel, a 23-year-old who has logged just 2.2 innings across two appearances. In that limited sample, he has allowed two hits and one earned run, along with a 3-to-1 walk-to-strikeout ratio. After that, the plan is likely to be fluid out of the bullpen.

Through five starts, May owns a 5.84 ERA, a .395 BABIP and a 64% left-on-base rate. There is at least some optimism, as his 4.05 xFIP suggests positive regression could be coming, but it is difficult to trust that turnaround happening in this spot.