Texas Rangers left-hander Brock Burke was placed on the injured list on Saturday with a fractured hand. Burke suffered the injury on Friday night after punching a wall in frustration following a poor outing against the Houston Astros, according to Jared Sandler of 105.3 The Fan.
Burke, 27, surrendered four runs (all earned) on three hits while recording just two outs in the Astros’ five-run seventh inning. The Rangers would subsequently turn to Grant Anderson, David Robertson, and Kirby Yates. That group combined to yield one run on two hits and a walk as the Rangers secured a 12-8 win.
It seems likely that Burke’s annoyance had to do with him turning in consecutive bad appearances. In his previous outing, also against the Astros, he gave up a run on three hits after inheriting a pair of baserunners. He did not record an out in that appearance, and the Rangers went from leading by one run upon his entry to trailing by two when he departed.
Burke is in the midst of his fourth career big-league season. In 116 outings, he’s compiled a 3.88 ERA (112 ERA+) and a 3.58 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
In corresponding moves, the Rangers purchased the contract of veteran right-hander Austin Pruitt and transferred infielder Justin Foscue to the 60-day injured list. Pruitt has notched a 4.43 ERA (93 ERA+) in 310 career big-league innings. Most recently, he posted a 2.98 ERA (139 ERA+) in 2023 over 48 innings with the Oakland Athletics. Foscue injured his oblique in just his second career big-league contest.
The Rangers, the defending World Series champions, are off to an 8-6 start on the season. That’s good for first place in the American League East.
