SARASOTA, Fla. — The Grapefruit League numbers for Orioles veteran pitchers Corbin Burnes and Craig Kimbrel don’t look great, but they’re not worried. In fact, they’re right where they want to be with Opening Day around the corner.
Both hurlers took part in the Orioles’ 5-4 win against the Boston Red Sox on March 16. Burnes allowed four runs (including two solo homers) in five innings, striking out a pair. Kimbrel threw a scoreless inning, fanning two and walking one.
Burnes has allowed 12 runs (11 earned) on 14 hits in 10.2 innings during Grapefruit League play, but his last three innings against the Red Sox may have been his best work of the spring. He retired 11 consecutive hitters to end his outing, pounding the zone along the way. Forty-seven of his 58 pitches were thrown for strikes.
Burnes said he locked in mechanically in the third inning and got on the same page with catcher Adley Rutschman in terms of pitch sequencing. That chemistry, paired with Burnes’ strike-throwing ability, made for a fun final few innings for the pair.
“When you get ahead and you work ahead of hitters and get to do some certain things in certain counts, it made it easier for us to get on the same page,” Burnes said following his outing. “In previous outings, when you’re starting you’re starting every hitter 2-0, it’s tough to kind of get in that same rhythm. Getting ahead so much today allowed us to really get into the sequencing and the pitch-calling and allowed us to really get on the same page. I think it kind of clicked for everybody today, which is good.”
The 6-foot-3, 246-pound right-hander was acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers on Feb. 1 in exchange for left-hander DL Hall, infielder Joey Ortiz and a draft pick. Burnes has been one of the top starting pitchers in baseball since the 2020 season, posting a 2.86 ERA, 765 strikeouts and 175 walks across 622.1 innings with a cutter-heavy approach during that time.
Now in his last season before hitting free agency, Burnes is with a different organization for the first time since being drafted by the Brewers in 2016. Since reporting to camp, he has been building relationships with Rutschman and backup catcher James McCann and sharing with them his philosophies for attacking hitters.
Burnes, 29, is expected to make one more Grapefruit League start before his Opening Day assignment on March 28. He’d like to pitch into the sixth inning and throw about 80 or 85 pitches. As for now, he’s pleased with the chemistry he has built with his battery mates in camp.
“You can do it in controlled, simulated games, which we did a couple weeks ago, which was good there,” Burnes said. “But [on March 16] to actually get ahead of hitters, kind of see how my pitches play off each other, where we’re wanting to go in certain counts, I think everyone kind of realized, ‘OK, this is it, this is where we are.’ And it showed. The last three innings was exactly where we want to be.”
Kimbrel, meantime, has allowed five runs and eight hits in five innings during Grapefruit League play, but four of those runs came in one outing on March 4. He has had three straight scoreless outings since then, striking out three and walking two during that stretch.
Most recently, Kimbrel struck out two against the Red Sox on March 16. Next, he will pitch on back-to-back days as part of his buildup toward Opening Day.
“Each and every outing, I try to take it one step forward, let it be me having more control, my ball spinning like I want it to or my velocity going up,” Kimbrel said. “Just kind of taking it one step at a time and I’ve been able to do that. I had some of that not work so great early on, but I didn’t worry about that too much because I knew I was working on it out there. Just took it into the next outing and tried to do better and better. Where I am now, I feel pretty good.”
The 6-foot, 215-pound right-hander signed with the Orioles on Dec. 6, helping shore up a bullpen missing star closer Félix Bautista. Kimbrel enters his 15th major league season eighth on the all-time saves list with 417. He has struck out 1,192 hitters in 757.1 innings with his trademark combination of four-seam fastballs and knuckle-curves.
The Orioles are Kimbrel’s eighth club. Now 35 years old, the longtime closer has a good idea of how to be clicking on all cylinders when the lights come on.
“Knowing that I have time to progress, taking full advantage of the physical therapy and the trainers that we have here, understanding that if I push myself a little too much in the offseason I might have a setback and I don’t want to run into that,” Kimbrel said. “I come in ready to get ready. Like I said, my progression’s been great. Where I am now, depending on how we come out of the back to back, I feel like Opening Day I’m going to be right where I need to be.”
The Orioles’ returning pitchers have a head start on Burnes and Kimbrel when it comes to building relationships with Rutschman and McCann, but every hurler started from scratch recently when it came to getting to know new pitching coach Drew French.
Well, almost everyone. Kimbrel was committed to Alabama when he was drafted by the Atlanta Braves out of Wallace State Community College in 2008. French was on the Crimson Tide’s staff at the time, but Kimbrel chose to sign with the Braves.
“We missed each other then,” the closer said. “It’s kind of funny how life works. You think you’re going to miss an opportunity with somebody and here we are working together.”
Photo Credits: Courtesy of the Baltimore Orioles