Burnett makes good on promise
A.J. Burnett vowed he would return this season. And he will.
The 38-year-old right-hander is scheduled to start for the Pirates against the Milwaukee Brewers at 7:05 tonight at PNC Park in the opener of a four-game series and eight-game homestand that includes four games with the Chicago Cubs next week.
Burnett went on the disabled list July 31 with a strained flexor tendon in his right elbow and the Pirates privately feared he might not be able to pitch again this season.
Yet Burnett (8-5 3.06 ERA) has worked his way back into the rotation, deemed game-ready last Sunday after facing hitters for the first time in a simulated game for the first time since being injured.
The Pirates entered Wednesday night’s game against the Reds at Cincinnati trailing the St. Louis Cardinals by five games in the National League Central and holding a two-game lead over the Cubs for the first NL wild card.
It is hard to tell exactly what the Pirates will get from Burnett. He went 7-3 with a 2.11 ERA in 18 starts during the first half of the season and was selected to the All-Star Game for the first time in his 17-year career, but went 1-2 with a 10.13 ERA in three starts then went on the DL.
Right-hander Wily Peralta (5-8, 4.21) will start for the Brewers.
As notable as Burnett’s return is the fact that ace right-hander Gerrit Cole will not start Friday night against the Brewers. The Pirates have opted to skip the 25-year-old’s turn in the rotation, though he was masterful on Sunday night in beating the Cardinals at St. Louis, allowing two hits in seven scoreless innings.
Cole will start next Tuesday against the Cubs in one of the games of a day-night doubleheader.
Cole is 16-8 with a 2.54 ERA in 28 starts and has pitched 180 2/3 innings. He threw 160 1/3 innings last season when he spent time on the disabled list because of shoulder fatigue.
Skipping Cole also lines him up to pitch the NL wild card game on Oct. 7 or the first game of a NL Division on Oct. 9. Furthermore, he will make all four of his remaining regular-starts against contenders with two against the Cubs, one against the Cardinals and one against the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers.