Coming off two of his strongest starts of the season, Jordan Balazovic kept it rolling Thursday with perhaps his best one yet. The Twins prospect’s hope for his next game might cause opposing hitters to shudder.

“It would be nice to do better next time I go out,” he said.

Baseball’s No. 75 overall prospect struck out 11 batters and allowed just one hit and one walk over seven dazzling innings as Double-A Wichita routed visiting Tulsa, 9-0, at Riverfront Stadium.

Balazovic retired the first five Drillers batters he faced on Thursday night before issuing a second-inning walk to Tulsa’s Ryan Noda. Behind the free pass, the right-hander locked back in with 10 more consecutive outs before Hunter Feduccia’s leadoff single in the sixth. Feduccia was thrown out trying to stretch the hit to a double, and Balazovic followed by retiring the final five batters he faced to finish his night having faced just one over the minimum.

Through his seven innings, Balazovic notched at least one strikeout in each frame and whiffed a pair in the second, fourth, fifth and seventh. The 11 K’s were the righty’s most in a start since May 13, 2019, with then-Class A Advanced Fort Myers against Bradenton.

“I wasn’t even paying attention to strikeouts, honestly,” he said with a laugh. “I just felt locked in and was executing pitches. Honestly my fastball command today was really there. I didn’t really miss much with it, and even if I did, it was good misses. I was around the zone with it, and I would say that was honestly my best pitch today.”

Against the Drillers, Balazovic finished his night with 90 pitches, 61 for strikes, and is looking more like himself after injuries delayed his start to the season. The 2016 fifth-round pick suffered an oblique strain and subsequent shoulder impingement during Spring Training and didn’t debut with the Wind Surge until June 5.

“I wasn’t able to really face anybody, and I wasn’t really thinking as much on the mound, executing pitches, reading swings, just little things like that,” he said. “With me getting comfortable, that honestly would probably be the biggest thing. I hadn’t really felt comfortable my first couple starts, and now the last three I believe, just tempo, everything’s flowing on time. It’s just working.”

Minnesota’s No. 2 prospect scuffled through his first five outings this year, putting up a 5.79 ERA and never making it through the fifth inning.

“The first couple starts it was just tempo, flying open and just missing spots, not being able to execute pitches like I should,” he said. “Now I’m getting back into it where even bullpens, I’m always working on something in the bullpen. I just feel like everything’s starting to get better and back into that routine and being comfortable.”

Since his slow start, Balazovic has not allowed a run over his last three starts, going 18 2/3 innings and allowing just six hits while striking out 24 and walking only three. On June 30, the 22-year-old went 5 2/3 hitless innings against Amarillo. Balazovic’s strong three-outing stretch has dropped his season ERA to 2.89.

“I just feel like I’m getting back into that routine, the everyday baseball [routine],” he said. “Spring Training, I missed a lot of it, so much up and down, not really facing hitters. Now, I’m starting to feel comfortable. I’m just executing pitches, and I feel like everything is getting better and better every game.”