Brock Burke’s anger got the best of him, and it landed him on the injured list on Saturday.
The Rangers’ relief pitcher has a fractured right hand after punching a wall in frustration Friday night after another poor showing against the Astros, Rangers manager Bruce Bochy told reporters.
In the seventh inning, Burke gave up four runs — all earned — on three hits while only recording two outs as the Astros tallied five runs in the frame, though the Rangers eventually won, 12-8.
“We want our guys, our athletes to be competitive and hate to lose, but with that passion there’s a fine edge, and when you cross that line there’s going to be consequences,” Bochy told reporters, according to Yahoo! Sports. “And we just saw what happened there. You love the fact that he was upset with not helping the club last night … but it just wasn’t a smart move.”
The previous night, Burke’s entered with the Rangers leading by one run and exited with Texas trailing byt two.
He didn’t record an out in the appearance, allowing one run on three hits after taking the mound with a pair of baserunners.
Burke, 27, is off to a rough start in his fourth season in the league, holding a 15.00 ERA across five appearances and three innings pitched.
Last season, he held a 4.37 ERA, allowing 32 runs (29 earned), 13 home runs, and nine walks.
However, he struggled in the postseason, which ended in a Rangers World Series win over the Diamondbacks.
Burke had two outings — one in the ALDS against the Orioles and the other in Game 4 of the World Series — in which he allowed two and three runs, respectively.
Despite Burke’s frustrating performances, the Rangers lead the American League West after an 8-7 start.