White Sox starter Sean Burke entered Friday’s series opener against the Seattle at Rate Field on tidy roll.
In his previous three outings, the 6-6 right-hander was 2-0 with a 0.93 ERA in 19 1/3 innings. He’d allowed just two runs and 12 hits while striking out 15 and walking just two.
What’s more, Burke hadn’t yielded a run — just seven hits and one walk — in his last two appearances, both dominant outings. He tossed 7 1/3 scoreless innings of three-hit bulk relief against the Nationals on April 24 in a game that went into extra innings tied at 0 at the Rate. It was the longest outing for Burke’s in three years in the majors.
Then he fanned eight Padres batters in six innings in San Diego last Saturday to lower his overall ERA to 2.72.
And the 26-year-old righty kept it up with a 1-2-3 first inning against the Mariners. He was aided by Munetaka Murakami’s 15th homer, a solo shot to left that staked the Sox to a 1-0 lead in the bottom half.
But then Burke lost control — and apparently command.
After giving up a single to Josh Naylor leading off the second, Burke hit a batter, walked one and then hit another, Cole Young, to force in a run that tied it 1.
The righty fanned Brendan Donovan to prevent further damage. Temporarily.
Burke retired the first two Mariners batters routinely in the third, then gave up singles to the every-pesky Naylor and Randy Arozarena. He walked J.P. Crawford, dealing four straight balls after an opening strike, to load the based.
Very bad omen.
Luke Raley followed with his first-career grand-slam to the right-field bullpen. The drive came on center-cut fastball that Burke served on an 0-2 count after Raley swung and missed pitched on the edge of the strike zone. Raley went deep again off the reliever Tyler Davis in the seventh.
Oops. This one went off script.
Before the game, general manager Chris Getz said Burke’s first innings and concentration had improved, perhaps circumventing the need for using him behind an opener.
“It’s something that he’s really prioritized and shown he’s capable of getting settled in early,’ Getz said. “You know it’s really about his command. He usually shows signs early on in his outing and what kind of outing you’re going to get from him.”
“We want him to give us six-play innings and he’s been able to put is in a position to win a lot baseball games and look forward for him to have another good one tonight.”
It didn’t happen.
And it might have dashed premature optimism that in Burke, the Sox had already found a very reliable starter behind emerging ace Davis Martin, who’s 5-1 with a 1.64 ERA.
The White Sox rallied to tie it at 5 in the third, capped by Colson Montgomery’s bases-clearing line double past diving Seattle center fielder Julio Rodriguez.
Burke came through with another perfect inning in the fourth on a pair of pop outs and a strike out.
Then Rodriguez homered to lead off the fifth. Burke’s night ended one out later after Arozarena’s second hit when Sean Newcomb relieved His line one the night: six runs on six hits. Two walks. Two hit batters. Four strikeouts.
Not what that Sox were looking or talking about before the game. Asked what he’s like about Burke recently, manager Will Venable said, “Just a ton of strikes. I think he threw 88 pitched and 66 strikes (in his last start, at San Diego) and was effective in the zone with different stuff..
Burke threw 52 of 74 pitched for strikes against the Mariners on Friday, but not always effectively and with command.
But that’s what’s made the righty effective in the stretch heading into Friday.
“I think the consistent thing has been that’s he’s been in the zone, getting swings and misses, pitching to quadrants that he wants to,” Venable said “Throwing in some good breaking stuff, fastball command. So really he’s got it all working”
Burke will need to address it again.
Richards, who turns 33 next week, is in his ninth major-league season and entered Friday with a 4.52 ERA in 297 games with eight teams.
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He will be a free agent after the 2027 season.
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The lefty allowed seven runs on seven hits with four walks and two strikeouts.
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The affable reliever had Tommy John surgery near the end of spring training.
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