Astros Receive Encouraging Performance From Mike Burrows in Toronto

After a brief stint in the bullpen, Mike Burrows returned to the rotation and delivered one of his best performances of the season, giving the Houston Astros hope that he can become a key piece moving forward.

Houston Astros pitcher Mike Burrows. | Erik Williams-Imagn Images

Mike Burrows has received his fair share of criticism throughout his first year with the Houston Astros. He’s consistently underwhelmed following a couple of successful seasons in Pittsburgh, making him a punching bag of sorts for Astros fans who are looking for somebody to blame for why 2026 hasn’t gone the way they want it to. (There are a lot of people who would fit that bill.)

Baseball is a weird sport sometimes, though. Just when you think a player is down and out, he can come out and prove everybody wrong.

That’s exactly what Burrows did on Wednesday against the Toronto Blue Jays.

A Fresh Start on the Mound Changed Everything

Houston Astros starting pitcher Mike Burrows. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Wednesday’s game was Burrows’ first start since June 13. In the intervening period, he’d appeared in just one game — on June 19 against the Cleveland Guardians — where he finished out a 9-3 win for the Astros, throwing one inning and allowing just one hit and no runs. Before that, he’d allowed at least five runs in each of his previous three starts.

In Toronto, Burrows unleashed what made him such an exciting player heading into the season. Everything was working. As a result, he shut down the Blue Jays for six innings, allowing just one run on two hits while striking out three and walking just one. It was impressive, to say the least.

Mike Burrows tonight vs. Toronto:

6 IP
2 H
1 R
1 BB
3 K

It’s his first start allowing ≤ 1 ER since May 8th! pic.twitter.com/m5wbSO2dTU

— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) June 25, 2026

"I think it was a good reset just to fire some out of the bullpen and feel good," Burrows said regarding his time out of the rotation (via Matt Kawahara, Houston Chronicle). "Got to close a game for the first time in professional baseball, which was cool, so check something off the list … Use it as a reset and just come back today and get after it."

Get after it he did indeed.

Not every pitcher would’ve been able to take a relegation to the bullpen as well as Burrows did. Starting pitchers value that title, and having to come out in relief can be demoralizing for those with larger egos. Burrows, however, took it in stride. And it’s worked out really well, at least in the short term.

A Chance to Give the Rotation a Boost in the Long-Term Lies Ahead

If Burrows can be what he was against the Blue Jays moving forward, then that changes the entire outlook of the Astros’ rotation. This is a group that’s struggled mightily throughout the first half of the year, and Burrows is a major reason why. If he’s able to help them flip that, then there’s no telling how far the Astros could go. Perhaps the postseason is in the cards, after all.