Corbin Burnes Strikes Out 11 in Dominant Orioles Debut on Opening Day
The Baltimore Orioles needed a true ace if they were to embark on a deep playoff run in 2024, and they certainly have that in right-handed starter Corbin Burnes.
Following six seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers, Burnes began his seventh big-league campaign – the first with his new team – Thursday at Camden Yards during an Opening Day matchup versus the Shohei Ohtani-less Los Angeles Angels. And it was a debut for the ages.
Prior to first pitch, all the attention was on the O’s new ownership group, led by David Rubenstein, whose purchase of the reigning AL East Division champions was ratified by the 29 other MLB owners on Wednesday. But that focus quickly shifted once Burnes took the mound for the first time in front of a sellout crowd.
The 29-year-old hurler instantly became the marquee event, completing six innings of one-run ball while punching out 11 Angels batters en route to a dominating 11-3 victory. He retired 16 consecutive hitters before handing things off to Baltimore’s bullpen.
Burnes’ 11 strikeouts are tied with Mike Mussina (1998) for the second-most on Opening Day in franchise history, behind only Dave McNally, who punched out 13 in ‘70. The former Brewer also tied Bump Hadley (‘32) for the most strikeouts in a team debut in Orioles/Browns history.
The three-time All-Star also entered a three-way tie with Madison Bumgarner (‘14) and Mussina (‘98) for the second-most strikeouts with zero walks allowed on Opening Day. With at least 11 punchouts, fewer than two runs allowed, and no walks, he joined Hall of Famer Bob Gibson (‘67) as the only pitchers to accomplish that feat during a season opener.
Everything was working for Burnes on Thursday, particularly his curveball and slider, which induced six whiffs on eight swings and four whiffs on seven swings, respectively.
“It’s one of those days where everything lines up, that you’ve got everything working, and it becomes a really fun day because you can just go about it in sequence and do some things that you don’t normally do when you don’t have everything working,” Burnes told reporters post-game, including MLB.com’s Jake Rill. “After about the second or third inning there, we kind of went into cruise-control mode with just getting ahead and trying to get quick outs.”
The only blemish was a first-inning, two-out solo blast Burnes surrendered off Mike Trout’s bat, a pitch the three-time AL MVP crushed 402 feet to left-centre. But he was held in check for the rest of the contest from there on out.
Burnes, exiting after tossing 82 pitches (56 strikes), earned the first of what the team hopes to be a bevy of victories during his inaugural season with the O’s.
“Couldn’t have asked for anything more than that,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “Awesome, awesome performance. That’s not easy to do — new team, Opening Day, a lot of jitters, probably pretty anxious. And to go out and do what he just did, that’s really impressive.”
It was a perfect reminder of why general manager Mike Elias executed a blockbuster trade with the Brewers to acquire Burnes last off-season – which sent pitcher DL Hall, infielder Joey Ortiz and future considerations the other way. So far, the early returns on that decision have been excellent.
In the absences of Kyle Bradish (elbow) and John Means (elbow), Burnes anchors a talented, albeit vulnerable, starting rotation that includes former top prospect Grayson Rodriguez. They’re joined by Tyler Wells, Dean Kremer and Cole Irvin.
Baltimore’s offence can supply sufficient run support, as they elegantly proved in Thursday’s opener. All they need is the pitching staff to hold up its end of the bargain. That should be much easier to achieve with a former NL Cy Young winner now in the fold, making this club even more dangerous than they were a season ago.
“They were loud, they were on it from pitch one,” Burnes said of the electric home crowd. “So to soak that in and know that, hey, this is Game 1, but we’ve got 161 more games of this. And these fans want it more than anyone. They’re going to be there supporting us March 28 to [Sept. 29].”
“It was a great atmosphere, fun Opening Day.”
Burnes recorded a 45-27 record with a 3.26 ERA and 870 strikeouts across 167 games (106 starts) in Milwaukee from 2018-23, making three postseason appearances during that span. He led the majors in ERA (2.43) in ‘21 and was named the NL Cy Young Award winner.
Last season, the Bakersfield, CA, native posted a 3.39 ERA and 200 punchouts – reaching that mark for a third straight season – over 193.2 innings in 32 starts. He can become a free agent after the 2024 campaign.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: CVN 70. This file is a work of a sailor or employee of the U.S. Navy, taken or made as part of that person’s official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, it is in the public domain in the United States.