Sean Burke Gets Second Opportunity With White Sox Following Minor League Stint

CHICAGO –– Sean Burke hoped he'd done enough to stay with the White Sox after Wednesday's start, his first in the Major Leagues after spending nearly a month in Triple-A.

"It was fun. It was exciting," Burke said after the 6-5 win over the Rays. "I almost felt like I was kind of debuting for a second time being back up, just happy. I'm obviously following along, seeing these guys playing really good ball the last couple weeks. So just to get back up here and help join that and help them win has been fun."

A lack of roster moves in the following days was a good sign he'd stay up, and on Sunday night the team confirmed Burke would pitch again for the big league club. Left-hander Tyler Gilbert will serve as the opener for Monday's 6:40 p.m. CT game against the Baltimore Orioles at Rate Field, followed by Burke in a bulk role.

The White Sox used an opener before Burke in four previous games this season, and the strategy has produced solid results. Across 22 innings in such outings, Burke allowed eight total earned runs and no more than three earned runs in any single start –– good for a 3.27 ERA. However, the White Sox are 0-4 in those contests with four one-run losses and an 0-2 record for Burke.

They didn't use an opener on Wednesday for Burke, who took a no-decision in his first Major League outing since Aug. 16. The 25-year-old right-hander finished with 4.1 innings, five hits, three earned runs, four walks and five strikeouts.

A key moment came in the second inning, when Burke walked the bases loaded with no outs but managed to escape the jam with a strikeout and a double play. He allowed just one hit over the next two innings, then exited in the fifth after giving up a home run and a single.

"It was good," manager Will Venable said of Burke's outing. "The walks put him in a tough spot. Did a nice job getting some pitches on the ground there, big double play early on to get us out of it.  But yeah, you know, just with the walks, it's tough to sustain that. But I thought after that he did a nice job being in the zone, attacking. Saw a really good fastball from him, which was a nice."

Burke was the White Sox Opening Day starter, and he was part of the starting rotation the entire season. But after failing to last more than 3.2 innings in two straight starts, he was optioned to Triple-A on Aug. 18 with a 4.28 ERA across 117.2 innings.

While in the minors, he made three starts and gave up 11 earned runs and 18 hits while walking five batters and striking out 15 across 12.2 innings. He also made a meaningful mechanical tweak that contributed to an uptick in fastball velocity, maxing out at 99.8 mph on Wednesday.

"There was one day down there I distinctly remember looking at some video and doing some stuff, and I had a feel that I hadn't really felt in a little bit," Burke said. "Then after that ... just kind of feeling in sync and letting the arm unravel, everything felt easy. So once I kind of got that feel back, just working on kind of practicing it and working on holding that feel throughout the game."

On Monday, Burke will face an Orioles team on a similar trajectory to the White Sox in recent weeks. Baltimore began September with an 8-1 record, but they were swept over the weekend in Toronto. The Orioles have been in last place in the American League for most of the season and have a 69-80 record.

The White Sox won eight of 10 games to begin September, but they were held to just three runs in a three-game sweep over the weekend in Cleveland. They'll look to get back on track with their final home stand of the season –– a pair of three-game series against the Orioles and San Diego Padres –– beginning Monday with Burke on the mound.

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