Whenever Corbin Burnes takes the mound nowadays, he instantly becomes the star of the show.
And then there was Monday night.
The normally unhittable Burnes was human in the series opener between the Brewers and the Miami Marlins. Despite trailing just 1-0 heading into the sixth Burnes ran into trouble and ended up leaving after five-plus innings with eight hits, five runs (four earned) allowed in Miami’s 6-0 victory.
Meanwhile, his counterpart, highly touted lefthander Travis Rogers lived up to his billing, pitching six shutout innings, surrendering six hits, striking out seven and walking no one.
Speaking of waking no one, Burnes, despite his sixth-inning trouble, still has not walked a batter in 2021. After striking out nine Monday night he now has 49 strikeouts on the season to no walks. That only trails Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen’s mark of 51 strikeouts without a walk to begin a season.