A day after Brewers ace Corbin Burnes left the game early with an injury, the former NL Cy Young winner said it was “really no big deal.”
Corbin Burnes left Monday night’s game against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park (GameTracker) with an injury in the sixth inning. He clutched his chest, especially his left breast.
Here Burnes exits the game. He called the coach right after sending Julio Rodríguez flying to midfield.
It seems that Brewers manager Craig Counsell didn’t even allow Burnes to throw test pitches in an effort to stay in the game. He immediately pulled the plug on his bait. For what it’s worth, television cameras showed Burnes in the dugout after the inning, and he didn’t seem seriously uncomfortable.
“It’s normal pain,” Burnes said Tuesday (through Adam McCalvy). “We probably got away with something before it got too serious.”
Milwaukee is already without co-ace Brandon Woodruff, who is shut down with a shoulder injury with no set timetable for his return. Left-hander Aaron Ashby may miss the rest of the season after shoulder surgery, and right hand Adrian Houser is currently sidelined with a groin injury. Burnes and Woodruff are the club’s most reliable source of innings.
Needless to say, losing Burnes for an extended period of time would be devastating, so it looks like the Brewers avoided that scenario. He’s one of the best pitchers in the sport and the Brewers are already pushing the limits of their depth of rotation. They have used seven different starters in 17 team games, second most in baseball behind the Tampa Bay Rays (eight thanks to different openers).
Burnes, 28, gave up two runs in 5 1/3 innings before leaving Monday’s game. He’s stumbled out of the gate early and has a 4.76 ERA in four starts and 22 2/3 innings.
The Brewers entered play Monday in first place in NL Central with an 11-5 record and a plus-28 point difference.