Mike Burrows' season hits rock bottom in Washington. Will Houston Astros keep him in rotation?

WASHINGTON – In perhaps his final start before the All-Star break, a trying season for Mike Burrows hit a low point. The Houston Astros staked the right-hander to a five-run lead in the third inning Monday night at Nationals Park. They trailed by the time he departed in the fifth. His 17th start with the Astros was also his shortest. None of the previous 16 produced a more lopsided line.

“It was just a tough day,” Burrows said, after the Astros’ 12-11 loss to Washington. “Just felt like I let our team down. They gave me a good lead and kind of spoiled it. Some of the hits felt like they were in bad spots, where our guys weren’t, and then there were a couple pitches that just missed, missed by a little bit, and I got beat. So just a tough one.”

In the first half, those outweighed the alternative for Burrows. Flashes of the starter Houston envisioned fortifying its rotation upon trading for him have subsided into struggles, none more glaring than his start against the Nationals. Roughed up for 10 runs, seven of them earned, Burrows saw his ERA jump to 5.99, the second-highest mark among qualified major-league starters.

Whether a club attempting to claw its way back to .500 can sustain that type of production in its rotation every five or six days seems a legitimate question. A collective effort between Burrows and the Astros to bring about better results is ongoing yet has eluded any semblance of consistency, inviting wonder about where the collaboration can turn to next.

“He’s still a young pitcher, so we’ve got to continue to help him through this process,” manager Joe Espada said. “Because he’s got the stuff to do it, there’s no doubt.”

Astros officials have backed Burrows as the 26-year-old navigates his first season in a new organization, and so far his first full season in the majors. General manager Dana Brown, who dealt two prospects for Burrows, perhaps influencing his bullishness toward the right-hander, stated last month that “there’s a learning curve for these guys” and “we just have to get him to make adjustments.”

Burrows has detailed those he is attempting, including raising his arm slot and lower-half mechanics. He moved to the bullpen for one series last month to work on those and catch a “breather” amid a rising workload. In his first outing back, Burrows threw six innings of one-run ball in Toronto. He then allowed four runs in five innings against Minnesota before a nightmare against the Nationals.

Belief in Burrows’ arsenal seems to persist. Espada suggested Monday night the Astros must “create some opportunities for him to go to areas where he can get some quick outs” but added they “need more consistency out of his pitches.”

“We know he’s got the changeup, when it’s down under he can get ground balls, get swing and miss,” Espada said. “The fastball, find areas where he can use it. The breaking ball, at times he gets it over for strikes. But we need more consistency out of that. And he’s working his tail off. We’ve got to give him credit. But we’ve got to help him through this process and try to get him right.”

Asked if that can unfold while a pitcher is in the major-league rotation, Espada said: “Yeah, of course.”

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That the Astros already detoured Burrows to the bullpen once, still, hardly signaled his standing in the rotation as steadfast. Upon announcing last week that Cristian Javier would join the bullpen initially in his return from the IL, Espada emphasized that “anything can change.” Though none appear close, the Astros also have Ronel Blanco, Lance McCullers Jr. and Hayden Wesneski working back from injuries.

After Monday’s loss, Espada gave no indication Houston is weighing a change for Burrows, who also has minor-league options. Yet a sample of more than half a season is difficult to downplay. Just four of 17 starts Burrows has made are quality starts. The Astros are 6-11 in those outings, albeit while providing Burrows the lowest average run support of their current starters, per FanGraphs.

That was not an issue Monday. But against a Washington offense that is the highest-scoring in baseball, Burrows allowed nine hits in 4 ⅓ innings, including a pair of home runs. He generated just two whiffs on 39 swings, which he attributed partly to pitching for quick outs. The Nationals put 20 batted balls in play against him, 11 of which had exit velocities above 95 mph, the Statcast hard-hit threshold.

“Continuing the work and going out and competing every sixth day is what everybody does, whether (an adjustment is) something small or a little more major,” Burrows said. “You’ve got to juggle that and work your way through it and get out there and compete.”

The outing left Burrows at 94 ⅔ innings for the season. He totaled 128 ⅓ innings last season between the majors and Triple-A. Physically, Burrows said he feels “good at this point.” He dismissed the notion of confidence being an issue, as well.

“I don’t think there’s any diminished confidence,” Burrows said. “I’m in the (strike) zone. I’m not afraid to make these guys swing. You get beat a couple times a game. If it’s right at someone then it’s going to be a great start. If it finds its way away from them or over a fence that’s when some runs come. You can’t be perfect. You just try and execute pitches and get outs. … It’s not an issue of confidence.”

For possible answers, Burrows pointed to “maybe pitch selection” or “trying not to miss in-zone, missing out of zone a little bit more.” As the season shortens, so may the runway to realize them. Burrows’ spot in the current rotation would come up next in the Astros’ final game before the All-Star break against Texas. Whether he occupies it will be telling.

“We’ve got the coaches to do it and help him through,” Espada said. “And he’s tough. We’ve just got to help him and continue to show confidence in him.”

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This article originally published at Mike Burrows’ season hits rock bottom in Washington. Will Houston Astros keep him in rotation?.

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