The Baltimore Orioles kicked off the 2024 regular season with a commanding 11-3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.
While there’s a million positive things that could be said about the O’s bats, the story of the game was premiere offseason acquisition, former Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes.
Burnes rattled off six innings in his Oriole debut, striking out 11 of the 19 batters he faced, the most strikeouts in an Orioles Opening Day game since Mike Mussina in 1998.
The only blemish on Burnes’ stat line came from a solo home run off the bat of Mike Trout in the first inning. Burnes settled in quite nicely after that, retiring the next 16 batters he faced en route to his first win of the season.
If this felt unprecedented, that’s because it absolutely was. Burnes’ one hit allowed is the fewest in MLB Opening Day history by a player with 10+ strikeouts and no walks allowed.
It’s safe to say Burnes was more than ready to take the mound for his new team. His velocity was up across the board, and his spin rates were well above his career averages.
While the O’s new ace is known for his cutter, it was his curveball doing the heavy lifting. It was by far his most comfortable pitch, and the Angels had no answer for the bending breaking ball.
Maybe the most impressive part of Burnes’ O’s debut was his efficiency. Even with 11 strikeouts, the crafty right-hander got through six innings on just 82 pitches. Had the O’s not been up big, Burnes could have easily gotten through another inning of work.
It’s been a long, long time since the Orioles had a true ace on their team. Burnes has the makings to be that player, and as many baseball fans’ AL Cy Young pick, that journey couldn’t have had a better first step.
What did you think of Burnes’ Orioles debut? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, Twitter (X) and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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