The Corbin Burnes who took the mound at Camden Yards on Thursday night looked nothing like the one Orioles fans had seen all season.
For one thing, this Burnes had shorter hair.
Perhaps hoping to forget his disastrous last game against the Red Sox, the Orioles star got a haircut just hours before first pitch and then toiled for 5 2/3 innings to earn a 6-0 loss to the Astros. In more ways than one, Burnes bore little resemblance to his All-Star self, allowing six runs, five earned, on eight hits and two walks.
But since the beginning of the month, the 29-year-old no longer looks like himself.
At a time when his team is in desperate need of quality innings, Burnes has improved his ERA from 2.47 to a still-impressive 3.28 in his last four starts. Thursday’s performance was an improvement over the eight-run flop he delivered on Aug. 16, but far less than what Baltimore expects from its star player.
Burnes’ final sentence, however, does not reflect how well he started the trip.
The right-hander had to handle the minimum number of bases for three innings before he first ran into trouble in the fourth inning when second baseman Jose Altuve led off with a walk. Burnes, perhaps afraid of adding to his league-leading total of 33 stolen bases allowed, committed a disengagement violation by throwing over the base three times, allowing Altuve to reach second base. Yordan Álvarez brought Altuve home with a single to right, and three batters later, Ben Gamel scored another RBI to make it 2-0.
The sixth inning proved even more difficult for Burnes, as he was pummeled with singles by Alex Bregman, Yainer Díaz, Gamel, Jake Meyers and Shay Whitcomb. Burnes also committed a throwing error in the four-run inning.
At least Baltimore’s batters have backed Burnes well in his last three appearances, scoring a total of 26 runs. That was not the case against Astros rookie Spencer Arrighetti, who had just three meager hits in six innings.
Gunnar Henderson gave hope in the first inning by hitting a 112-mph double with two outs, but was left standing on second base after a lineout by Ryan O’Hearn. A hustle double by Ryan Mountcastle in the second inning also came up empty, as Jackson Holliday grounded out and Cedric Mullins popped out to end the threat.
Adley Rutschman’s single in the fourth inning was the last hit of the night for the O’s, who were hitless against relievers Shawn Dubin and Caleb Ferguson.
Burnes can hardly be blamed for going through his first losing streak of the season. But the Orioles, who slipped to 9-11 this month and have lost five of their last seven games, need Burnes to be the stopper he was earlier this year. Baltimore won each of its star’s first five games of the season, and four of those came after a loss.
Nor can he be burdened with the burden of taking over innings that are currently gathering dust on the injured list. With the Orioles’ pitching staff losing an entire rotation of starters, their team has been reduced to a collection of players who were not expected to play many, if any, major league innings this season.
Burnes probably has five, maybe six more starts to go before the regular season ends and a (hopefully) playoff run begins. There’s a good chance his hair will have grown back some by then.
