'It's flow state': Reliable Burrows looks rejuvenated in rotation return

TORONTO -- After moving to the bullpen for a turn through the Astros’ rotation last week, Mike Burrows looked rejuvenated on Wednesday as he delivered one of his best outings of the season in his return to working as a starter.

Burrows masterfully navigated through six innings of one-run ball against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre, allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out three before handing the ball off to Houston’s bullpen in a 3-1 win.

“He competed in the zone. I thought that he threw the ball extremely well,” said Astros manager Joe Espada. “It’s the Mike that we’ve seen in outings just like that, and he delivered on a night that we really needed him to step up.”

The 26-year-old Burrows used all five of his pitches and averaged 95.2 mph with his four-seam fastball as he kept Toronto’s lineup off balance and away from hard contact for most of the night.

Burrows’ only blip came on the second batter in the bottom of the first, when Nathan Lukes took him just over the wall in right field for a solo homer.

But instead of letting that derail his return to the rotation, the 6-foot-1 right-hander locked in. After Lukes’ solo blast, Burrows retired 17 of the next 19 hitters he faced before earning his handshake from Espada.

“It’s flow state,” Burrows said of the rhythm he entered after the Lukes homer. “You’re out there competing, and everything’s moving right, and you know you’re doing [well].”

Offensively, the Astros pushed across the go-ahead run in the eighth, when Joey Loperfido tripled and came in to score on an error by Toronto.

Houston opened the scoring in the first on Isaac Paredes’ RBI double -- the third straight game in which the 27-year-old drove in a run in his first trip to the plate. That, combined with Burrows’ bounceback and a late run-saving grab in right field from Cam Smith, helped Houston claim its fourth straight series win.

“We just got to continue to play good baseball,” Espada said. “[Continue to be] prepared, execute, play with some conviction, purpose and focus, and keep pressing.”

The Astros might not have been able to lock the win away, though, had it not been for Smith’s eighth-inning catch.

Espada called it “the play of the game,” as Houston's right fielder ranged back on a 96.1 mph liner off the bat of George Springer, leaping to take away extra bases with Luis Urías on second. And after Urías ran too far off the bag at second, Smith relayed the ball to Jose Altuve, who threw to shortstop Jeremy Peña for an inning-ending double play.

“That was really cool. I want to do that again,” Smith said. “As soon as George hit it, I knew he has oppo pop, so I had to get to the ball fast. I felt like I did one of those jumps where I was spreading my legs out, reaching my glove out, like I usually do, so that was a cool moment.”

The play allowed the Astros to take a one-run lead to the ninth, where they added an insurance run on an RBI single from Peña before Josh Hader locked down his sixth save of the season.

Ultimately, it all backed Burrows’ strong showing, which is another positive sign for Houston’s rotation as it rounds into better health as the season wears on.

“I keep saying that this guy has all the tools, the pitches to be a successful Major League starter, and I truly believe that,” Espada said of Burrows pregame. “It’s going to take some time, some ups and downs, but we’re here to help him through that.”

Wednesday’s outing was the first time this season he had allowed fewer than two runs in a start since a May 27 appearance against the Rangers and the first time he had surrendered fewer than three hits.

During Burrows' stint in the bullpen, he and the team focused on cleaning up his mechanics as he searched for his best stuff to play consistently.

“I think it was a good reset,” Burrows said Wednesday. “Just to fire some out of the bullpen and feel good. … Use it as a reset and come back today and get after it.”

Burrows will hope to use this step forward in Toronto and Friday’s scoreless appearance in relief against the Guardians as a springboard into a more productive second half.