Corbin Burnes shows great flashes, mixed results in Diamondbacks debut

Starting pitcher Corbin Burnes made his highly anticipated debut for the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium, and he showcased elite stuff in an outing with some mixed results.

Burnes struck out eight New York Yankees hitters in 4.1 innings, but a pair of home runs and a defensive blunder cost him runs in Arizona’s 7-5 win.

The right-hander — who signed a $210 million contract this past offseason — allowed four runs, only two of which were earned.

Burnes’ tenure started with a pair of strikeouts and an Aaron Judge pop-out in a 1-2-3 first inning. He struck out Paul Goldschmidt and Cody Bellinger with his fearsome cutter, which he threw 66% of the time on Tuesday.

In the second, Burnes hit the edge on a 3-2 curveball to strike out Jazz Chisholm Jr., and he struck out Anthony Volpe with another cutter in a 1-2-3 inning. He dotted the edges to avoid any hard contact with the suddenly spotlighted “torpedo” bats.

Corbin Burnes strikes out the first two batters he faces as a member of the @Dbacks! pic.twitter.com/SSEAac2PSq

— MLB (@MLB) April 1, 2025

Burnes ran into trouble in the third, however, as Yankees rookie Jasson Dominguez blasted a solo shot into the short porch in right field. With two runners on and nobody out, Burnes worked out of danger to maintain a 2-1 lead.

After punching out Chisholm again to start the fourth, Burnes allowed his second homer to Volpe on a cutter over the middle.

The inning went sideways with two outs, defensively. Burnes appeared to have stranded a pair of runners with an Oswaldo Cabrera bouncer to first, but Josh Naylor’s flip sailed over Burnes covering the bag. Both runs scored to give New York the lead. Defense cost the Diamondbacks during their opening weekend, an element of their game that is expected to be solid.

This is a TOUGH error by Josh Naylor pic.twitter.com/HgRhEHPsjo

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 2, 2025

Burnes came back out for the fifth, walked Bellinger and struck out Judge looking. Jalen Beeks entered and stranded the runner to close Burnes’ book.

The newest D-backs starter threw 98 pitches, walked three batters and allowed four hits in his debut.

The Diamondbacks only mustered one hit through seven innings, a Corbin Carroll two-run home run. They rallied in the eighth with five runs, including a go-ahead grand slam from Eugenio Suarez.

Burnes joined the Diamondbacks with a decorated resume which includes four All-Star nods, five top-five Cy Young finishes and the 2021 National League Cy Young award. With the Baltimore Orioles last season, he worked a 2.92 ERA in 32 starts.

His D-backs debut was delayed after Arizona opted to start Zac Gallen on Opening Day. The decision would have thrown off Burnes’ meticulous routine to have him pitch over the weekend at Chase Field.

Diamondbacks starters this season have accounted for 25 innings and 13 earned runs (4.68 ERA) through the rotation’s first round.

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