Sean Burke walks eight, gets pulled in fourth

Burke was outstanding on Tuesday in Houston, holding the Astros scoreless into the sixth. He allowed just one hit and walked four batters while collecting six strikeouts, falling one out short of completing six frames at 104 pitches. The 26-year-old right-hander will take an excellent 3.20 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, and a 167/54 K/BB ratio across 154 2/3 innings into a start against the Twins in Chicago on Sunday.

Burke looked unbeatable for a time in July after a velocity spike, but that extra boost is gone now and he has a 4.57 ERA in his last four starts. He’s still playable in mixed leagues, but expectations should be fairly modest. He’ll work at home against the Rangers next week.

Burke was phenomenal in his start against the Reds on Tuesday with seven innings of one-run baseball. This outing wouldn’t be described as that, as he didn’t fool the Detroit lineup, issued three walks, struck out just two and gave up a homer. It’s a disappointing start, but the 26-year-old has earned a clunker or two with an ERA still at 3.15 on the season. He’ll get a chance to rebound Friday against the Mets.

Burke did what he did, Nick Lodolo allowed three homers and four runs in four innings. Both got no-decisions. Baseball is very fair. It was an outstanding start for the 26-year-old, but the bullpen blew a 4-1 lead to prevent Burke from picking up the victory. He allowed just a solo homer to Eugenio Suárez while striking out eight and not issuing a walk. Burke has been outstanding for most of 2026, and he’ll get a chance to keep it going over the weekend versus the Tigers in Detroit.

Burke gave up five hits, walked two and struck out four. He fell to 7-6 with the loss. Burke allowed an RBI single to Willson Contreras in the first inning and a solo home run to Wilyer Abreu in the third inning. His streak of eight consecutive starts with at least five innings pitched was snapped. Burke has a 3.08 ERA. He’s lined up to face the Reds at home next week.

The velocity spike Burke enjoyed a month ago hasn’t held up over his last three starts, but he’s remained awfully effective anyway. The scoreless outing today was his second in three starts, and he has a 1.42 ERA and a 67/9 K/BB in 50 2/3 innings over his last eight turns. With his peripherals backing up his success, he seems like someone who can be counted on in mixed leagues the rest of the way. He’ll face the Red Sox next week.

Burke gave up four hits, walked one and struck out 10. He fell to 7-5 with the loss. Burke has been excellent over his last seven starts with a 1.61 ERA, 57 strikeouts and seven walks in 44 2/3 innings. He’s 4-1 in that span and the White Sox are 6-1 as a team. Burke lowered his ERA to 3.19 on the season in the process. While his 3.72 xFIP shows he’s potentially not quite this good, it’s still an impressive run for the 26-year-old right-hander. Burke is lined up to face the Yankees at home on Thursday.

Burke punched out five opposing hitters on the afternoon while allowing just one base on balls. Both of the hits that he did allow were singles and the Jays never seriously threatened against him. He got 12 whiffs on 98 offerings on the afternoon, registering a strong CSW of 32 percent. For the season, he now sits at 7-4 with a 3.20 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and a 120/34 K/BB ratio over 112 1/3 innings through his first 20 appearances. He’ll look to replicate this fine effort when he tangles with the Astros on Saturday.

The White Sox will return from the break with their top three starters going. This will also set up Erick Fedde for a two-start week against Texas and Houston the following week.

Burke was dominant here from the get-go. He was perfect through the first 13 batters and when Jacob Wilson finally singled in the fifth, he was immediately erased by a double play. His fastball was the star of the show, forcing 10 of his 16 total swings-and-misses and sitting at 96 mph, more than a full tick above its season average. That pitch was so lethal that Burke used it more so as his put-away pitch while mixing his slider, knuckle-curve, and sinker more so early in counts. He had it all going on and ended the first half on a heater not giving up more than two runs in any of his last five starts. Altogether, he’ll head into the All-Star break with a stellar 3.41 ERA, 115 strikeouts, and 33 walks through 105 2/3 innings.