Michael

Wacha

Wacha had allowed just one run before a disastrous fifth inning. On the day, the right-hander had three walks, five strikeouts, and a 10 percent swinging strike rate. He was able to throw strikes with his four-seamer and cutter, but he struggled to get whiffs with anything outside of his changeup. He’ll carry a 3.77 ERA into a surprise All-Star appearance this weekend.

Wacha as an All-Star makes a lot of sense if maybe he’s Kansas City’s only representative, but Bobby Witt Jr. is the team’s starting shortstop. Wacha is going to his second All-Star Game anyway, though there seemed to be better picks available. He’s 5-6 with a 3.45 ERA ahead of his final start of the first half against the Mets.

Wacha was brilliant against the White Sox on Saturday, holding them scoreless over his first six innings of work. Chicago would finally break through with a run on two hits and a groundout in the seventh. Wacha returned for the eighth and recorded the first two outs before allowing two runners to reach. That would end his day at 105 pitches (70 strikes). He struck out seven. The 34-year-old right-hander will take a 3.31 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, and an 84/30 K/BB ratio across 108 2/3 innings into a start against the Phillies in Kansas City next Saturday.

Wacha finished with five strikeouts and only handed out one free pass. A run-scoring double to deep left field from Yandy Díaz with two outs in the fifth inning represented the lone tally against him in this one. The 34-year-old veteran has put together back-to-back quality starts to rebound after three consecutive rough outings. He’ll wrap up a two-start week with a road matchup against the upstart White Sox on Saturday.

Wacha struck out three and walked one while throwing 72 percent of his pitches for strikes. The 34-year-old had an 11 percent swinging strike rate and 32 percent CSW while riding his changeup against a left-handed heavy lineup. Against righties, he elevated his four-seamer well for swinging strikes and continues to put together solid starts en route to a 3.64 ERA on the season. He’s a low upside option against the Rays next week.

Wacha walked one and struck out two on the day. Most of the damage done against him came early, as the Rangers scratched out single runs in each of the first three innings — the last on a solo blast by Corey Seager. The lone tally after that came on a run-scoring single in the sixth. Wacha generated seven whiffs on 102 pitches on the day, posting an underwhelming CSW of just 22 percent. Now 4-5 on the season, he’ll carry a solid 3.58 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and a 69/27 K/BB ratio (88 innings) into Tuesday’s battle against the Nationals in Washington.

Wacha held the Twins scoreless through two innings before giving up a run on two hits and a groundout in the third. After five innings of one-run ball, Wacha let things get away in the sixth, starting with a solo homer by Brooks Lee. Three straight hits and a pair of wild pitches would bring two more runs in and knock Wacha from the game at 77 pitches. The 34-year-old right-hander will take a 3.44 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, and a 67/26 K/BB ratio across 81 innings into a start against the Rangers in Kansas City on Thursday.

The Royals had already lost Wacha’s previous three outings, but those were all quality starts from the righty. This is just his third non-quality start in 12 tries. He hit a batter and walked one in a four-run first and then mostly held it together aside from giving up three singles in the fourth. He wound up allowing eight hits but only five hard-hit balls. Wacha’s ERA stands at 3.23, and he’ll get the Twins on Friday.

Wacha allowed five hits, walked two and struck out five in his fifth straight quality starts and ninth overall in 11 outings this season. In spite of his success, the Royals dropped to 4-7 in his starts, though Wacha at least has a 4-2 record anyway. He’ll be a fine play in Texas against the Rangers on Sunday.

Wacha struck out eight and walked two against his former team, needing 105 pitches to complete the quality start. He’s down to a 2.70 ERA in his age-34 campaign, which would be the lowest of his career if the season ended today. It doesn’t, and a .232 BABIP with a high left-on-base rate could hint at regression, as all his ERA indicators suggest he’s at the same talent level as recent years. Wacha will look to keep rolling next time out at home against the Yankees.