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This was a jaw-dropping performance. There was never a moment where Misiorowski wasn’t in complete control and was one Kyle Schwarber single away from throwing a perfect game. That inning ended with a double play so in the end, Misiorowski faced only the minimum 27 batters. He struck out eight of the first nine batters and in the first inning specifically, his fastball averaged 104 mph. Yes, 104 mph! Just completely ridiculous. It only took him 52 total pitches to reach that point too. From there, the Brewers had opened up a big lead and he was more shooting for outs rather than strikeouts, but this was still as dominant a start as we’ve seen from any pitcher in quite some time. Possibly most impressively, he mostly just leaned on that fastball. He threw it 73% of the time, it averaged 102 mph, and it forced 23 of his 25 total swings-and-misses. The final five he threw were all at least 103 mph and it looked like he had a few more scoreless innings in him if the game called for it. It’s becoming difficult not to call him the best pitcher in baseball at this point with that kind of velocity, drastically improved command, a 1.34 ERA, and a 131 to 22 strikeout to walk ratio across 96 innings this season. Misiorowski is scheduled to send the Guardians to the buzzsaw next.

Kay made it through the first inning without any issue, but ran into a bit of trouble in the second inning. After walking Kyle Tucker to start the inning, Kay would then allow a double and hit Max Muncy to load the bases with no outs. Santiago Espinal would single to drive home two runs, putting the Dodgers up 2-1, but Kay would tightrope his way out of danger after that to limit the damage, and was solid the rest of the way. The lefty was in control of the strike zone all night, allowing just one walk while throwing a strike on 61.8 percent of his pitches. This was a much-needed bounce back after Kay allowed six earned runs in his previous start. Kay will hope to build on this in his next start on Thursday against the Yankees.

Contreras blasted his 14th homer of the season in the first inning off of Rangers starter Jack Leiter to put the Red Sox up 2-0. Contreras would single in the fifth inning in what turned into a four-run inning for the Red Sox, and later doubled home Wilyer Abreu in the eighth inning in his final at-bat. Contreras continues to swing a hot bat for the Red Sox in June and is slashing .333/.421/.727 on the month with three homers and eight RBI.

Strider saw the velocity on his fastball drop suddenly into the 87-88 mph range in the fourth inning, which prompted the visit from the training staff and his eventual removal. He’ll head for further evaluation. Strider allowed seven runs on six hits and a walk while striking out three in his three-plus innings of work. Stay tuned.

The Rangers put up three hits on Gray in the first inning, with the first run coming around to score on an RBI single by Wyatt Langford. It would be the only run Gray would allow on the night, as the veteran righty locked in to fire five-straight scoreless frames while allowing just two hits and no free passes. Gray has allowed three earned runs or fewer in eight straight starts and has made it through six innings in five of those outings. He remains as reliable an option as any and is scheduled to make his next start on Thursday at home against the Blue Jays.

Bibee allowed just two hits and a pair of walks on the evening. Both of the hits that he did allow were solo homers — to James Outman in the third and to Spencer Torkelson to lead off the eighth. The 27-year-old hurler got 15 swings and misses on 91 pitches on the night — five on his sinker — while posting a strong CSW of 34 percent. Now 2-7 on the season, he’ll carry a 3.94 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and a 71/26 K/BB ratio (84 innings) into Thursday’s showdown against the Brewers in Milwaukee.

Rooker had missed Wednesday’s game against the Brewers due to the issue and didn’t feel any improvement after Thursday’s off day, so they’ll sit him down and let the injury heal properly. Jacob Wilson was activated from the injured list in a corresponding move on Friday.

The 24-year-old slugger had missed the team’s last two games after tweaking his back. He’s back at shortstop and in the cleanup spot for the White Sox against Dodgers’ right-hander Roki Sasaki on Friday evening in Chicago.

Ohtani was removed from Thursday’s game as a precautionary measure due to inflammation in his left knee. The Dodgers have opted to take a very cautious approach here with their two-way superstar and will give him at least an extra night off to rest. Santiago Espinal will fill in as the Dodgers’ designated hitter on Friday and will bat eighth against Anthony Kay and the White Sox.

It’s the first trip to the big leagues for Jordan. The 23-year-old slugger was originally a third-round selection by the Red Sox from the 2020 draft class. He was having a terrific season at the Triple-A level, slashing .313/.379/.548 with 11 homers and 35 RBI in 252 plate appearances, so the Cardinals will see if he can provide some of the thump that Nolan Gorman was lacking.