'He's an ace': Burnes ready to live up to lofty expectations in playoffs

BALTIMORE -- The Orioles never tempered the lofty expectations that were placed upon Corbin Burnes from the moment the club acquired the 29-year-old right-hander in a blockbuster trade with the Brewers on Feb. 1.

He would be their ace. He would be their workhorse. He would be their Opening Day starter, and he would be their Game 1 starter in the postseason -- when, and not if, he led them there.

Has Burnes felt any pressure being the primary player expected to push Baltimore from a playoff-caliber team to a World Series contender?

“None. I’m only one person. I can only go out there and do my job,” Burnes said. “I’ve kind of preached that all year when we’ve had guys go down that, at that point, it’s the next guy who steps up and fills those shoes. Those of us that are healthy, we can’t throw more innings, we can’t make more starts, we can’t try to do things to make up for guys that go down.

“So that’s always been my mindset of, ‘Hey, these guys brought me in. I’m still one person. I’m going to go out there and give it my all every day, and we’ll see where we end up.’”

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That may be the case, but Burnes is almost single handedly giving the O’s confidence that by the end of Tuesday night, they’ll have a 1-0 lead over the Royals in the American League Wild Card Series and be on the precipice of advancing to the AL Division Series.

Burnes will toe the rubber Tuesday at Camden Yards, where a raucous crowd will pack the seats for October baseball for a second straight year. He’ll be on the mound to throw the first pitch at 4:08 p.m. ET (ESPN2), then he’ll look to set the tone for Baltimore for the entire series.

Every person in the Orioles’ clubhouse believes he’ll do exactly that.

“He’s a guy that can beat anybody on any night, and to have a guy like that, with that kind of stuff, that kind of confidence -- Corbin Burnes is pitching, you expect to win that night,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “And that’s how our guys feel.”

Last year, Baltimore’s 101-61, AL East-winning campaign ended when it got swept in three games by eventual World Series champion Texas in the ALDS. The O’s sent three young hurlers to the mound for their postseason debuts -- Kyle Bradish (two runs allowed in 4 2/3 innings in Game 1), Grayson Rodriguez (five runs in 1 2/3 innings in Game 2) and Dean Kremer (six runs in 1 2/3 innings in Game 3).

There shouldn’t be any butterflies on Tuesday evening for Burnes, who excels at not letting any moment become too big. He’s also experienced the October stage plenty before with Milwaukee, having recorded a 2.84 ERA in eight postseason games (two starts) over the previous six years.

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“Postseason baseball is a different monster. Knowing that this Wild Card set’s the best-of-three, it’s important to win Game 1 tomorrow so that you can win Game 2 and get the extra off-day and set things up into the DS,” Burnes said. “We’re here. We’re in October. It’s time to go.”

The key to Burnes’ 2024 success has been his consistency. Of his 32 outings, 22 were quality starts. He allowed more than three earned runs only four times, and three instances came during his tough August (a 7.36 ERA in five starts).

He reshaped and retooled his cutter at the start of September, then posted a 1.20 ERA over his final five outings of the regular season.

Burnes, who started for the AL in the All-Star Game, ranked fourth in the AL in ERA (2.92), third in innings pitched (194 1/3), eighth in WHIP (1.10) and 10th in strikeouts (181).

He immediately set the tone for his season on Opening Day, when he struck out 11 over six innings of one-run, one-hit ball vs. the Angels in an 11-3 win at Camden Yards.

“When you have somebody that’s consistently going to go out there and give you a quality start for 95 percent of the year, you feel pretty good on the day he’s going to line up to pitch,” pitching coach Drew French said. “What he’s brought to this team and this environment and the consistency and just the workmanship -- he’s an elite human being, and we’ve appreciated that about him. ...

“He’s an ace. Game 1, that’s where he fits.”

It’s also where Burnes should continue to thrive. He planned on leaving the Orioles’ Monday workout and going home to continue studying scouting reports about the Royals. He had a 3.97 ERA in two regular-season starts vs. Kansas City, but both came in April.

Burnes still isn’t feeling any pressure despite a last-minute cram session. He’ll be ready.

“For me, it’s the same process as usual,” Burnes said. “Go out there and do my business of doing my homework and watching video and being prepared. I’ll be excited to get out there.”