The Arizona Diamondbacksâ much-maligned pitching staff suddenly has another problem on its hands.
Ace right-hander Corbin Burnes was removed from Sundayâs 3-1 win over the Washington Nationals after just 70 pitches with an apparent injury.
The Diamondbacks were leading 3-0 in the top of the fifth inning when Burnes allowed a single to C.J. Abrams. Burnes then waived to the dugout and shouted in frustration before being attended to at the mound by the training staff and manager Torey Lovullo.
Following a brief conversation in which he appeared to complain about his elbow, Burnes exited. Afterward, Lovullo told reporters that Burnes will undergo an MRI on Monday.
Burnes, who was one away from being eligible for a victory, allowed a run on four hits over 4.2 innings while striking out six.
What Has Gone Wrong for Diamondbacks Pitching?
Burnes signed a six-year, $210 million contract with Arizona in December, making him the fourth-highest pitcher in baseball behind Yoshinobu Yamamoto ($325 million), Gerrit Cole ($324 million) and Max Fried ($218 million). The four-time All-Star and former National League Cy Young winner has been mostly effective, holding a 2.66 ERA through 11 starts.
Injuries, however, continue to hamper the staff. Jordan Montgomery is out for the season following Tommy John Surgery, while Eduardo Rodriguez (shoulder) and A.J. Puk (elbow) are on the injured list.
Sunday was just Arizonaâs second win in the last 11 games, a stretch in which itâs allowed 61 runs (5.5 per game). The Diamondbacks (28-31) rank 25th in baseball in ERA (4.88) and have allowed the seventh-most home runs (74).
Corbin Burnes Slated to Undergo MRI
Speaking with reporters postgame, Burnes said his elbow began tightening on him. Notably, his velocity had dropped prior to exiting.
âObviously we saw that the velo had started to drop, and the movement of the pitches was not where we wanted it to be,â Burnes said via a video posted on X (formerly Twitter) by Diamondbacks on SI reporter Jack Sommers. âIt just got to a point there in the fifth inning, I tried 200 times to put Abrams away and just couldnât do it. It just got to the point where the tightness was too much. ⦠I didnât feel like we needed to push it any farther.
âHopefully we caught it early, hopefully itâs not bad, but weâll see.â
When asked about his level of concern, Burnes said itâs hard to quantify because he hasnât previously dealt with elbow issues.
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