The Marlins are baseball’s hottest team, as a six-game winning streak has brought Miami back to a .500 (35-35) record. Friday’s 8-3 win over the Pirates saw Sandy Alcantara allow five runs and a walk over eight innings of three-run ball, while striking out seven. Alcantara’s impressive start included his 1000th career strikeout, with 992 of those punchouts coming in a Marlins uniform. Ricky Nolasco is Miami’s all-time strikeout leader with 1001, so Alcantara figures to set a new franchise record perhaps as early as his next start.
1. Miz’s masterpiece
Jacob Misiorowski‘s dream season continued with one of the best pitching performances in recent memory, as the Brewers ace faced the minimum 27 batters in a 6-0 shutout of the Phillies on Friday. Kyle Schwarber‘s fourth-inning single made him the only Philadelphia batter to reach base, and Misiorowski quickly extinguished the threat by inducing Bryce Harper to hit into a double play. Misiorowski recorded 15 strikeouts and needed only 94 pitches to finish his complete-game gem, and an absurd 58 of those pitches reached or topped the 100mph threshold. Misiorowski has a 1.34 ERA over 14 starts and 87 innings this season, and he has been charged with just one earned run over his last 54 1/3 IP.
2. Yordan goes yard twice
If Misiorowski’s pitching numbers look like something out of a video game, Yordan Alvarez is posting his share of unreal statistics on the offensive side. The Houston slugger is hitting .321/.433/.659 with over 305 plate appearances, and his 24 home runs are tied with Schwarber for the Major League lead. Alvarez’s 23rd and 24th homers came in the first inning of Friday’s 10-8 Astros win over the Royals, as Alvarez also became the first batter in Astros history to record six RBI in one inning.
3. Skubal returns
For the first time since April 29, Tarik Skubal will take the mound for the Tigers. The reigning two-time AL Cy Young Award winner is set to be activated from the 15-day injured list for today’s key AL Central game against the Guardians, capping off what seems to be a remarkable recovery. Skubal was expected to miss at least a couple of months after he underwent arthroscopic surgery to remove loose bodies from his throwing elbow, but the use of the new “NanoNeedle” scope during the procedure appears to have shaved several weeks off of Skubal’s recovery time. While the Tigers are still just 29-41, Detroit has a 7-3 record in June, and the returns of both Skubal and Casey Mize from the IL create some hope that the Tigers can continue to dig themselves out of their early-season hole. And, if not, Skubal suddenly becomes the biggest trade chip in baseball heading into the deadline.
