Difficulties of Corbin Burnes’ Diamondbacks return show up vs. Yankees

PHOENIX — It is difficult enough coming back from Tommy John surgery, not to mention doing so in-season without a spring training build-up.

Add to the equation that Corbin Burnes suffered a setback with a shoulder injury earlier this year and has been dropped into the rotation for an Arizona Diamondbacks team holding on for dear life in the postseason chase.

The end of this season was always likely going to be a grind for the four-time All-Star who missed 15 months, and Sunday’s 8-4 win over the New York Yankees showed the difficulties of this plan.

Burnes did not get out of the third inning, giving up four runs on three no-doubter home runs from Heliot Ramos, George Lombard Jr. and Spencer Jones. They got increasingly more violent, as Lombard’s traveled 424 feet and Jones’ 448 feet.

Lombard goes yard 💣@georgelombardjr 💪 pic.twitter.com/ynK2zvBoCl

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 20, 2026

Manager Torey Lovullo brought out the hook with two outs to get Ryne Nelson in the ballgame, and the bullpen delivered 6.1 scoreless innings to secure a win.

“Not great,” Burnes said of his outing. “I don’t really have many answers right now. Had a good week of catch play coming in, and in the bullpen felt like it was coming out pretty well. … Got to try to figure out what’s going on, but everything feels great, which is weird. Something along the line is not translating.”

Burnes has had to manage these outings without his full capabilities. His velocity is not where it was before surgery, and command is typically a challenge for pitchers fresh off a long absence.

He has thrown 10.1 innings since coming back and allowed five home runs and four walks. The cutter is his signature pitch, and it has not had the same bite to it.

His cutter averaged 94.1 mph last season and 95.3 mph in 2025. On Sunday, the pitch was averaging 90.9 mph, with several failing to reach 90.

Burnes has felt like his secondary pitches are doing what they are supposed to, but he needs that cutter bearing in on lefties and moving away from righties to attack the strike zone and balance his arsenal.

“The shapes of the curveball and the changeup were great. When you’re throwing your fastball at 90, you don’t have the separation of speeds and stuff,” Burnes said. “You’ve got to be perfect with them. … When you’re basically five miles per off where you should be for a cutter and a sinker, it’s tough to pitch that way.”

Burnes fought like crazy to get back this season, that was clearly important to him and the D-backs were in need of what he could potentially provide to the rotation.

The internal alternatives were not ideal, so bringing back a former Cy Young winner was presented publicly as similar to a trade deadline acquisition. There were always risks even if worth a shot.

That is not to say Burnes cannot return to his top-of-the-rotation form after a healthy offseason and full spring training.

But he is not using his situation as an excuse to perform poorly in the present.

“It’s not an excuse, because everything was feeling great post-TJ, post-shoulder,” Burnes said. “I’m not sure what the disconnect is. … It could be we’ve missed so many reps the last 15 months that the body is still trying to figure out the chain of command as far as getting the ball out of the hand. It’s frustrating because you don’t want to go out and pitch like that when you’re trying to pitch for your life. Basically, you’ve got to win every game we’re playing for our life here.”

Lovullo said, as of postgame on Sunday, that the plan was for Burnes to make his next start, which would be against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park in the final series of the regular season.

The Diamondbacks are four games back of the final National League Wild Card spot entering the closing week of play, so the importance of Burnes’ start could vary depending on how the next few days unfold.

“It takes a little bit of time,” Lovullo said. “If there’s one person that can fight through it, it’s Corbin Burnes. He’s got an unbelievable mentality. But, I think there’s a little bit of a concern that this is not working for him right now. I know he’s going to be a great work in progress for these next four or five days.”

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