RADIO
A.J. Burnett has been activated from the DL and will start Thursday against the Milwaukee Brewers as the Pittsburgh Pirates go for their third straight win.
Burnett, 38, missed five weeks thanks to inflammation in his throwing elbow. Despite losing a 2015 All-Star, the Pirates still hold the first Wild Card spot while also trailing the St. Louis Cardinals by 4 1/2 games in the NL Central.
The right-hander owns a 3.06 ERA with an 8-5 record. Burnett was one of the better pitcher in the NL until he had a rough month before landing on the DL, and forced to receive a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection on his elbow.
“I think Skip (Clint Hurdle) knows that I’m needed,” Burnett told The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “He respects that I’ve been playing this game for a long time and I know my body. He was just giving me the time I needed. When I told him I was good, we’d plug me in somewhere.”
There was no rehab assignment for Burnett. He simply threw bullpen sessions.
“I think I’ve thrown enough where I’m ready now to pitch in a big-league game,” Burnett told The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “Why not do it at home? Seems the most comfortable spot.”
