Astros' innings pitched leader Burrows moving to bullpen

HOUSTON -- Astros right-hander Mike Burrows, who leads the team in innings pitched and games started but has struggled for much of the season, will be temporarily moved to the bullpen for this weekend’s series against the Guardians, which will give him a chance to rest and work on his mechanics.

Burrows threw a bullpen prior to Wednesday’s game against the Tigers at Daikin Park and said he will piggyback starting pitcher Tatsuya Imai in Friday’s series opener against Cleveland. The Astros got ace Hunter Brown back from the injured list Tuesday and have an off-day Thursday, which created an opportunity to skip a starter. Burrows could rejoin the rotation for next week’s road trip to Toronto and Detroit.

“I think we were looking at it from a health standpoint, as well helping out the team,” Burrows said. “It also gives me an opportunity to take a little bit of a breather and work on some stuff and then move back into the rotation next week. I think from all points it makes sense, where we’ve gotten to with innings and leading up into All-Star break pretty soon. Hopefully Imai and I can get through Friday and help out the bullpen and get off to a good start and then just slot back in next week.”

Burrows, acquired from the Pirates in a three-team trade in December, is 3-8 with a 5.86 ERA and 1.58 WHIP in 78 1/3 innings in 14 starts this year. He entered Wednesday leading the American League in earned runs allowed (51) and was tied for third in the Major Leagues with 18 home runs allowed. Astros pitching coach Josh Miller said Burrows has been working on his delivery, which he said has “kind of got off the rails [and] out of whack a little bit early.”

“We're trying to get back to baseline and get him where he can execute his pitches at a high level,” Miller said. "We have high expectations and we expect the results to be better for it.”

Miller said Burrows has pitched across his body a bit too much and his arm slot has gotten too low, which often happens to pitchers who add a two-seam fastball like Burrows did last season. His biggest issue remains his four-seam fastball, which has more arm-side movement that the team wants.

“And he hasn't executed it at a high level,” Miller said. “He’s thrown it for strikes, but maybe thrown it a little too general, maybe thrown a little too much.”

Burrow’s four-seam fastball has a .308 batting average against and a .744 slugging percentage against, which ranked as the fifth-highest in the Major Leagues with at least 50 plate appearances ending on a four-seamer. It’s the pitch he throws the most at 29 percent.

“I used to be a guy who would open up really fast, too early, step towards first base,” Burrows said. “I've made corrections to not have that habit. So the more I corrected one way, it led to maybe a little lower slot, a little crossfire throw, a little bit of just kind of moving the needle too far one way. So now it's bumping back a little bit.”

Still, opposing hitters are batting .362 against his sinker, which is fifth-highest in MLB, and his slider opponents’ average is .306, which is fourth-highest among pitchers to have at least 50 plate appearances that end on a slider. His changeup is his best pitch.

“We’ve got to get to the changeup more,” Miller said. “He's got to be able to throw it for strikes for us to do that.”

Burrows had a 3.94 ERA last year in 23 games (19 starts) with the Pirates, but pitched better later in the season. He had a 2.97 ERA in his final 33 1/3 innings, which was a mix of starting and relieving.

“Staying on track is realizing my first half last year wasn't that great either,” Burrows said. “I’m just working towards being the best version of myself. It’s about the long run, not right now, in this moment, and not making sure it's figured out in one day, but making sure that the work correlates to where we're trying to get to.”