Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Corbin Burnes exited Sunday’s start against the Washington Nationals in the fifth inning with elbow discomfort, manager Torey Lovullo told reporters after the game. Burnes, who called for the trainer after allowing a single to Washington shortstop CJ Abrams, will undergo an MRI on Monday.
Burnes to that point in the start had tallied 4 ⅔ scoreless innings. He allowed four hits and a walk, all the while striking out six of the 19 batters he faced. Reliever Jalen Beeks would subsequently allow an inherited runner to score, with that run being charged to Burnes.
Burnes’ velocity on his final two pitches were identical, with both cutters checking in at 91.5 mph — a mark beneath both his game and seasonal velocity for that pitch type. Burnes’ velocity across the entire game was down by nearly a tick compared to his norm.
The 30-year-old entered Sunday having amassed a 2.72 ERA (153 ERA+) and a 2.28 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his first 10 outings. His contributions had been worth an estimated 1.9 Wins Above Replacement, according to the calculations housed at Baseball Reference. Moreover, Burnes had tallied nearly six innings per start to date, including in each of his last five starts.
Burnes, the 2021 National League Cy Young Award winner, signed a six-year pact worth $210 million with the Diamondbacks over the offseason. He had been a reliable workhorse in recent years, averaging 31 starts from 2021-24. Burnes had also finished top five in Cy Young Award voting five years and counting, even last season, the first (and only) season of his career that he’s spent in the American League.
After beating the Nationals 3-1 on Sunday, the Diamondbacks have a 28-31 record on the season, putting them in fourth place in the National League West. The D-backs are already down several other starters, including Jordan Montgomery and Blake Walston (Tommy John surgery) and Eduardo Rodriguez (shoulder inflammation).
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