Kay will start for the White Sox out of the break

Martin, who opened up 9-2 through 13 turns, is now winless in his last six starts, even though he’s pitched very well in three of those games. He allowed four hits, walked two and struck out five today. He’ll pitch at home against Houston next Friday.

Kay kept the Jays off the board for the first two innings of this one, but saw his first earned run come across to score in the third inning on a fielder’s choice by George Springer. In the fourth inning, Kay would allow a solo homer to Luis Urías in the second inning and left the game to start the fifth inning while holding onto a 5-2 lead. The lone run he allowed in the third inning was a sign of good fortune, as Kay allowed four batters to reach base in the frame, but the Jays were unable to capitalize with runners in scoring position. Kay’s next start is scheduled for Wednesday against the Rangers.

Feddy came in for the third after Bryan Hudson and Chris Murphy pitched scoreless first and second innings, respectively, and allowed one hit with three strikeouts through the sixth. He started the seventh by giving up a double to Joshua Kuroda-Grauer, leading to his exit, but Sean Newcomb came in and stranded the runner. It’s Fedde’s fifth win, all of which have come since the beginning of June. He has a 4.15 ERA in nine starts and 10 appearances as a bulk guy.

Burke was dominant here from the get-go. He was perfect through the first 13 batters and when Jacob Wilson finally singled in the fifth, he was immediately erased by a double play. His fastball was the star of the show, forcing 10 of his 16 total swings-and-misses and sitting at 96 mph, more than a full tick above its season average. That pitch was so lethal that Burke used it more so as his put-away pitch while mixing his slider, knuckle-curve, and sinker more so early in counts. He had it all going on and ended the first half on a heater not giving up more than two runs in any of his last five starts. Altogether, he’ll head into the All-Star break with a stellar 3.41 ERA, 115 strikeouts, and 33 walks through 105 2/3 innings.

The runs scored on a Caleb Durbin homer in the fourth. Kay got into trouble in the second, hitting the first batter of the inning and then, on a soft grounder to the first baseman, getting to the base just a tad too late to retire Connor Wong. At that point, though, the Red Sox opted to bunt for some reason. Anthony Seigler got down the sacrifice, but Boston failed to score from there. Kay dropped to 6-4 with a 4.23 ERA. The White Sox are surely still pleased with his first half, but his 17.6 percent strikeout rate, combined with average-ish walk and groundball rates, doesn’t bode particularly well for the second half.

Martin walked two and threw a run-scoring wild pitch in a three-run third innings and then gave up four singles in a two-run fourth. That took him up to 84 pitches, and the White Sox decided against bringing him back out for the fifth. It’s just the fourth time in 18 starts that martin has allowed more than three runs. However, all four of those have come in his last nine outings. He closes out the first half 9-4 with a 3.41 ERA, and he seems like a shaky bet for the rest of the season.

Burke held the Guardians scoreless through four innings before giving up a solo homer to Austin Hedges in the fifth. He completed one more frame, ending his day with just the one run, tossing 66 of 95 pitches for strikes and collecting a career-high 11 strikeouts. The 26-year-old right-hander will take a 3.56 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, and a 106/33 K/BB ratio across 98 2/3 innings into a start against the Athletics in Chicago on Friday.

Kay’s solid start was cut short by a rain delay in the top of the fifth inning that ended up forcing both starters from the game by the time play resumed. The lefty was putting together a nice outing before the delay, allowing just three batters to reach base, with the lone hit he allowed coming on an RBI single by Travis Bazzana. Kay has faced the Guardians in two of his last three starts and has allowed just one earned run over 10 innings pitched to his division rival. He’ll look to build on this outing in his next start, which is scheduled for Thursday at home against the Red Sox.

Martin just could not command the baseball in this one, issuing five free passes in his abbreviated outing. It’s also the first time in 61 career starts that he failed to record a single strikeout. All of the damage done against him came in the third inning as Travis Bazzana smacked an RBI double and Brayan Rocchio worked a bases-loaded walk. Martin threw just 37 of his 73 pitches for strikes, generating just three whiffs and posting a miserable CSW of just 14 percent. He’ll look to bounce back and finish the first half strong as he carries a 9-3 record, 3.08 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and a 90/29 K/BB ratio (96 1/3 innings) into Wednesday’s matchup against the Red Sox.

Fedde won for the second time in nine starts and third time overall in 17 appearances for the White Sox this season. He’s been adequate in posting a 4.41 ERA in spite of a 53/33 K/BB through 79 2/3 innings. The White Sox might be able to do better at some point, but they’ll stick with him for now and have him face the Guardians, perhaps behind a left-handed opener, on Sunday.