Burrows learning the hard way: MLB life has peaks and valleys

MINNEAPOLIS – All Major League pitchers have ups and downs, but it’s more glaring when you’re a rookie and you haven’t yet established a track record. Mike Burrows found out again on Saturday that struggling through the peaks and valleys of a season is part of the job description.

Burrows gave up six runs on five hits, walked three and hit a batter in 1 1/3 innings as the Pirates fell to the Twins, 12-4, for their eighth straight loss.

“That was probably the worst outing I might have ever had on a baseball diamond,” Burrows said. “Couldn't control the fastball. The problem was just not being able to make the adjustment, and that's what happens when you can't make the adjustment. … It was a tough day.”

Burrows (1-3) has shown flashes of his potential this season, including his most recent three outings, in which he allowed just one earned run in 11 2/3 innings. But even in those moments, there were a few ominous signs lurking in the statistics. For instance, Burrows pitched around four walks in his last outing, when he also allowed three hits but blanked the Mariners for five innings. But this time around, he wasn’t so fortunate.

“You're always going to have bumps in the road as a Major League pitcher or player -- everybody goes through that,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “It’s how you react to it. He’s a competitor, a fierce competitor, and we just know that he's going to be out there working on everything to get back into that groove that he was in.”

On Saturday, the Twins didn’t take advantage of a golden opportunity in the first inning, when Byron Buxton led off with an infield single and moved to second on a walk to Willi Castro. First, Burrows struck out Trevor Larnach. Then he retired Ryan Jeffers on a flyout to center and Brooks Lee on a grounder to second.

But in the second inning, things fell apart. With one out, Burrows walked Royce Lewis, then hit Ty France on the elbow with a stray curveball. That prompted a visit to the mound by pitching coach Oscar Marin. Kody Clemens deposited Burrows’ next pitch deep into the right-field seats to give the Twins a 3-0 lead.

“It was just a bear-down moment -- what are we gonna throw this guy, let's get back on track,” Burrows said of his conversation with Marin. “He just told me I was pulling off, so when the left side's getting away from you and the ball's flying up, it's like hitting a slice with your driver every hole, and you're just not making the adjustment.”

Buxton -- who ended up hitting for the cycle -- followed Clemens’ homer with a ringing drive over Oneil Cruz’s head in center for a triple. Castro hit a dribbler in front of the plate that scored Buxton and went for an infield single. Larnach walked, Jeffers drove in a run with a base hit, and that was it for Burrows.

“This stuff happens -- guys get on base,” Burrows said. “But when the fastball wasn't there, and the only thing that was landing was offspeed, stuff just kind of stayed up, and they got to some pitches.”

But as Kelly noted, Burrows is a competitor and said he refuses to let the outing shake his confidence.

“I'm not gonna lie down and roll over because of it. I'm gonna come back and, if anything, it's gonna give me a little edge to be better the next time out and learn a couple things,” Burrows said. “The only way this goes wasted is if I don't learn anything from it.”

Cruz pulled with sore hip

Cruz made a leaping attempt at the fence on Castro’s seventh-inning homer to left-center. Then he was replaced by pinch runner Tommy Pham after hitting an eighth-inning single. Cruz jogged off the field a bit gingerly, but Kelly expressed optimism that the twinge Cruz felt in his right hip wouldn’t be cause for concern.

“We're still evaluating,” Kelly said after the game. “Hopefully more precautionary there. He tried to rob that home run and felt a little something. I think it was the hip flexor area. So we'll see how he's doing. After the single it just didn't look like he was moving real well.”