Corbin Burnes will take the mound against his former team on Sunday, hoping to help his current team avoid a sweep as the Baltimore Orioles host the Milwaukee Brewers for the finale of a three-game series.
That reunion is bound to attract the most pregame attention.
Burnes has expressed to reporters in Baltimore that he’s sticking to his routine without trying to emphasize the connection to his next opponent.
“I’m here to win baseball games for the Baltimore Orioles and win a World Series for the Baltimore Orioles,” he said. “A lot of good things that came out of my time there (with Milwaukee), but that’s the past.”
The right-handed Burnes (2-0, 1.93 ERA) is making his fourth start with the Orioles after spending the first six seasons of his career with the Brewers. Milwaukee traded 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner to Baltimore in February.
Even without Burnes, the Brewers are off to a 10-3 start, holding the best record in the National League.
“I don’t know that we’re there yet,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “It’s early in the season.”
The Orioles will try to prevent their first three-game skid of the season. They’ve gone 95 consecutive regular-season series without being swept.
Burnes said he won’t dwell on the matchup or who holds the advantage in terms of familiarity on Sunday.
“I feel like I have an advantage over every lineup,” the three-time All-Star said.
The Orioles could benefit from Burnes working deep into the game after pitching snags have tapped into their bullpen so far in the series. Milwaukee has scored 11 runs in each of the first two games.
“We were hoping (Saturday’s starter Dean Kremer) could get us a little deeper, but didn’t,” Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde said.
Kremer went four innings in the loss, giving up six runs on 10 hits.
Milwaukee will send right-hander Colin Rea (2-0, 1.64) to the mound to counter Burnes. He has given up one earned run in each of his two starts so far, earning victories against the New York Mets and Seattle Mariners.
Rea’s only appearance against the Orioles came with five shutout innings with eight strikeouts in a no-decision last June in Milwaukee.
The Brewers’ bullpen came through with 5 2/3 shutout innings Saturday.
“The job that the relief corps did was fantastic,” Murphy said.
The Orioles don’t seem flustered despite the first two outcomes in this series.
“I believe in our team,” catcher Adley Rutschman said. “We’re all about the process. (Sunday) we’re going to show up ready to go.”
Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich didn’t play Saturday after leaving Friday’s game with lower-back discomfort. He likely won’t play Sunday, Murphy said, with further evaluation needed to determine if he should be placed on the injury list.
Heralded prospect Jackson Holliday wasn’t in Baltimore’s lineup Saturday after going 0-for-11 since making his debut with the big-league team.
“I just want to give him a little bit of a breather,” Hyde said. “For me, it’s been a long three days for him and he’s played like 18 out of 19 days or something, where he’s played a lot of games. That’s a lot to handle for a 20-year-old kid with all the attention.
Sunday won’t mark the first matchup of the series involving a pitcher against his ex-team. The Orioles faced former teammate DL Hall on Saturday and did relatively well by scoring five runs in 3 1/3 innings.
–Field Level Media
