PITTSBURGH, PA - MAY 13: A.J. Burnett #34 of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches against the Houston Astros during the game on May 13, 2012 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH -- During their 19-year run of futility, the Pirates have made a number of forgettable acquisitions.
Pat Mears, Jeromy Burnitz, Lastings Milledge, Ronny Cedeno, Lyle Overbay, Andy LaRoche, Derek Bell and Chan Ho Park are among the more infamous deals sealed by the club. Because of this shaky track record, there's plenty of hand-wringing every time the Pirates add a player from another team.But, at least in the early going, it appears that A.J. Burnett's name won't be added to the aforementioned rogues gallery.
The Pirates got Burnett from the Yankees in an off-season trade hoping that he -- along with fellow veteran Erik Bedard -- could stabilize a developing starting rotation. It was a calculated risk. Though the 35-year-old wasn't too far removed from some effective seasons, he was coming off two straight miserable years with the Yankees that saw him finish with ERAs north of 5.00.
During spring training, the karma was not good after Burnett broke a bone in his eye socket by bunting a ball back into his face. With the exception of one outing, however, Burnett has been everything the Pirates had hoped he would be.
Burnett had another strong start Sunday in the Pirates' 3-2, 12-inning win over the Astros. He worked eight innings, giving up two earned runs with four strikeouts and no walks.
"It's what I expect," said Burnett. "You're not going to be perfect every time. Our goal is to keep our team in it, stay out there as long as we can and not worry about the results. That's why I was able to bounce back.
"You can't get caught up in any start whether it's a good one or a bad one. You've got another one in five days, and we just want to throw up zeroes the best we can."
Toss out his abysmal outing against St. Louis, when he gave up 12 earned runs in just 2 2/3 innings, and Burnett has been brilliant. In his other four starts this season, Burnett has pitched 29 innings and given up only six earned runs (1.86 ERA) with 29 strikeouts and only six walks.
Despite surrendering Chris Johnson's RBI single that put Houston up 2-1 in the seventh, Burnett prevented further damage in the inning by getting out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam.
"I just told (pitching coach) Ray (Searage) I'm going to see how he feels," said manager Clint Hurdle about potentially taking Burnett out after the seventh inning. "And normally when I'm going to ask a pitcher how he feels and he's down by a run, I pretty much know the answer.
"I just wanted to see if he was strong, and he said, 'No, I'm in a good place. Trust me.' And I said, 'Sure.' He still had pitches to work with and it (the eighth) turned out to be one of his most effective innings of the game."
Houston went 1-2-3 in the eighth on two weak groundouts and a popup.
Burnett was let off the hook for the loss when Pedro Alvarez hit a tying sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth. Truthfully, it was the least the Pirates' offense could have done for Burnett after he had kept them in the game -- never mind that it left him with a no-decision after he threw eight solid innings against Washington five days ago.
Perhaps that's why Burnett happily gave shortstop Josh Harrison the traditional post-game shaving cream pie in the face after Harrison's game-winning single in the 12th.
"It's always nice, for one, just to get a win," said shortstop Clint Barmes, who doubled and scored on Harrison's hit. "The way our staff has been throwing all season, it would be nice to be able to score a few more runs for the starting guys.
"They've kept us in the game every night out. ... It's definitely nice to pick it up in the ninth inning and at least not give him the loss."
The Pirates' starting rotation has been one of the majors' best through the first month and a half of 2012. Burnett's performance has played no small part in that.
Once the offense comes around, the Pirates might actually be able to contend in a weak National League Central ... and maybe even break that string of losing seasons and bad player pickups.
"I think they (offense) are starting to relax a little bit," said Burnett. "They never give up. That's the thing about these guys. We couldn't get a hit for eight innings and they wouldn't give up. That's our job: just keep us in games as long as we can until they strike. Because these boys don't quit."
ccurti@timesonline.com
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