The White Sox laid a 22-1 beatdown on the Royals on Friday, tying the second-highest run total in Chicago’s 126-year history in the majors. Tristan Peters‘ six-RBI night was fueled by a grand slam in the sixth inning, while Miguel Vargas and Jacob Gonzalez also collected five RBI apiece. The emphatic victory and the Guardians’ 3-1 loss to the Mariners puts the White Sox a game ahead of Cleveland for first place in the AL Central.
1. Miz keeps throwing the heat
Speaking of widening leads, the Brewers are now a comfortable 7.5 games ahead of the Cubs in the NL Central race after Milwaukee topped its division rival by a 6-2 score on Friday. Jacob Misiorowski tied his season high with four walks, but held the Cubs to one run on two hits over six innings while striking out eight. As usual, Misiorowski hit a velocity-related milestone, as his 105.5mph fastball in the first inning marked a new career best for the phenom. It also tied the third-fastest pitch ever recorded since Statcast was incorporated in 2008. Kyle Harrison starts today as the Brewers look for their sixth straight victory, while the newly-acquired David Peterson is set to make his first start for Chicago.
2. Meyer, Marlins stay hot
Max Meyer, Michael Petersen, and Calvin Faucher combined to hold the Cardinals to just three hits in the Marlins’ 4-0 shutout victory on Friday. Meyer did a lot of the heavy lifting with seven shutout frames, and right-hander is now 9-0 with a 2.60 ERA, 26.7% strikeout rate, and 9.0% walk rate over 97 innings and 17 starts this season. The secondary metrics (like a 3.70 SIERA) aren’t quite as impressed with Meyer’s work, but he has been rolling lately with a 1.78 ERA in his last 30 1/3 innings of work. The Marlins are now 17-5 in June, as the club’s strong play has brought them within a game of an NL wild card berth.
3. Tensions flare in The Rivalry
The Yankees and Red Sox are at opposite ends of the AL East standings, but Boston has now won the first two games of the four-game set between the two longtime foes. Friday’s 6-1 Sox victory saw the benches empty (just for some jawing and glaring rather than brawling) after Willson Contreras wasn’t pleased by a couple of relatively inside pitches from Will Warren during a fifth-inning walk. Contreras had homered and hit an RBI single in his previous two plate appearances, and marked his walk with a big bat flip that drew Warren’s attention. Gerrit Cole looks to get New York back in the win column in today’s game, as Cole is set to start against Boston rookie Jake Bennett.
