The comments that got Corbin Burnes suspended from Baltimore Orioles Team

BALTIMORE — If it hadn’t already been abundantly clear, the impact Corbin Burnes left on his old organization was plain to see again Friday afternoon, of which he spent a considerable chunk in or around the visitor’s dugout at Oriole Park. Giving hugs and shaking hands, Burnes enjoyed reunions with old teammates, coaches and friends he knew he’d be staring down from the mound in two short days’ time.

“Everybody wanted a piece of him,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “To wish him luck [going forward].”

Since the Brewers know Burnes so well, it came as virtually no surprise when those genuine niceties and nostalgia faded away entirely once Sunday came. What remained was also the Burnes they know: hyper-competitive, over-prepared and often downright nasty. Maybe that familiarity helped them battle Burnes like no other team this year, scratching out three runs (two earned) against their former ace before dropping Sunday’s series finale, 6-4, in the late innings.

“Whenever you’re facing a No. 1, you’re trying to do everything you can to pester him to get him off his game,” Murphy said. “I don’t know if we did that. He made some big pitches at some big times and gave his team a chance to win.”