Jared Burton says he isn't a feel pitcher or a finesse pitcher. He just likes to cock and throw as hard as he can. So when things go bad, as they did in Milwaukee Wednesday (one inning, four runs, three hits), he isn't sure how to mend it.
"There really isn't anything I can work on in the bullpen or tinker with," he added. "It's a little hurdle I have to get over mentally to get locked back in and get things working." Manager Dusty Baker isn't ready to hide him in the bullpen.
"He doesn't have the late life, zip and movement on his pitches," said Baker. "And he's just throwing too many strikes. He was lights out last year and he is still going to be a very good major-league pitcher."
Says Burton, who ERA shot from 2.38 to 10.38 in one catastrophic inning, "Over the course of the year, you have to remain confident that your stuff is going to be there and you try not to get caught up in numbers."
REDS 2, ASTROS 1: C Ramon Hernandez hit a one-out two-run home run in the top of the ninth when the team was down, 1-0. RHP Roy Oswalt, 23-1 for his career against the Reds, owned the 1-0 lead, but closer Jose Valverde walked 3B Edwin Encarnacion on four pitches in the ninth before Hernandez connected.
