“It’s different when it’s our guys,” Burnett said. “They know I didn’t mean to do it. It’s not a good feeling, but at the same time, you see how it works every for our guys. From then on out no body wanted to step in.”OK, so I guess Wallace Matthews was wrong about the ball hitting Kearns in the head, either that or he hit Kearns twice, which actually wouldn't surprise me.
Both hit batters came on two-seam fastballs that got away, and Burnett laughed about them afterward. So did Kearns, who was grazed in the upper arm. Those two pitches aside, Burnett was happy with his outing. His past few bullpen sessions had been no more than 20 pitches, and the biggest test seemed to be working with a long pitch count deep into a (simulated) game.
“Better than I thought,” Burnett said. “I ended up throwing 80-plus pitches and felt good the whole way through it. That was a big step forward I think… Curveball was great I thought today, and I threw some great changeups too. The only two that got away were the only two that hit our guys.”
Either way, I'm glad Burnett felt good about the outing. I know I'm grasping at straws here, but maybe that confidence is just what he needs to get himself on the right track.
