Tuesday’s victory over the Toronto Blue Jays saw Corbin Burnes cut his season ERA to 2.26, the lowest figure for a Baltimore Orioles starter in 46 years.
Tuesday night, Corbin Burnes delivered another spectacular performance that created history for the Baltimore Orioles. Against the Toronto Blue Jays, Burnes pitched 7.0 innings of one-run ball while giving up just four hits and one walk. George Springer’s solo home run was the lone run Toronto scored; Baltimore, on the other hand, amassed ten runs and won 10-1.
By the time Burnes was released, his season ERA was down to 2.26. As of 2024, he is 6-2 with a 1.017 WHIP and 1.7 WAR. Burnes has the lowest ERA of any Orioles pitcher through his first 13 starts of a season since Jim Palmer in 1978, according to Justin Havens of Underdog Fantasy. The eventual Hall of Famer had a 2.12 ERA by June 5 of that year.
For someone who has only been in Baltimore for a few months, Burnes’ feat to be in the history books with a three-time Cy Young and three-time World Series champion is quite the accomplishment. Burnes has been the Orioles’ ace since the team’s February blockbuster trade with the Milwaukee Brewers to acquire him. Burnes may stay in Baltimore for a long time if he re-ups with the team this winter, even though he will never be a career Oriole like Palmer, who pitched for the team from 1965 to 1984.
Throughout the 2020s, Burnes was a consistent candidate for the National League Cy Young Award, which he took home with the Brewers in 2021. In the voting, he came in seventh in 2022, eighth in 2023, and sixth in 2020.
Burnes, who is in his debut season in the American League, is considered one of the top three favorites to win the Cy Young award. Since the 2020 season began, Burnes is 43–24 with a 2.79 ERA, 0.999 WHIP, 10.8 strikeouts per nine innings, and a 16.9 WAR. During that time, he ranks first in strikeout-to-walk ratio, third in WHIP, and sixth in ERA among qualified starting pitchers. With Burnes leading the heir rotation—which has suffered multiple injuries in recent weeks—the Orioles have prospered. Burnes had four starts between April 26 and May 13, and although he still had a 2.59 ERA and no wins, Baltimore may have lost those games.
207 batting average against, but aside from that span, the squad has a 9-0 record when Burnes on the mound. The Orioles are poised to win a huge divisional series north of the border after taking the first two games of their four-game set series against the Blue Jays. On Wednesday, the third game is scheduled to begin at 7:07 p.m.
