Beau Burrows and the Altoona Curve bullpen held the Erie Seawolves at bay en route to a 4-1 win in front of 3,181 fans at PNG Field Friday night.

It marked the second time in as many outings Burrows shut down Erie, a team he played for from 2017-19, as he notched five strikeouts in two innings against them on Tuesday. He followed it up Friday by again tossing two scoreless innings.

That performance certainly caught the attention of Seawolves manager Andrew Graham, who was the first coach Burrows had at the professional level after the Detroit Tigers drafted him in the first round in 2015.

“It was great to see him get back in the game as a bullpen arm, and have five punches against us, the other day,” Graham said. “He was showing me that he had that plus ride back again. He was landing his slider-curveball, and he’s established a new cutter. I spoke to him quite a bit, and I kept in contact with him over the years because he was one of those players that I had a great relationship with.”

Po-Yu Chen pitched into the fifth inning for the Curve and gave up just one run. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

It’s not for a lack of talent that Burrows has wound up with the Curve. He made it to the Majors in 2020 with the Tigers and in 2021 with both the Tigers and the Minnesota Twins.

Since then, it’s been quite the career path for him. He has bounced from organization to organization and roadblock after roadblock.

“He was great early on. He performed really well, but it’s my job to make him mentally tougher and get him ready for the next level,” Graham said. “As he went up as a starter, the game got harder for him, and it caught up. Now you see him develop. My first comment when I spoke to some of my coaches who knew him was, he’s matured. He’s grown into a young man. He’s not that young kid anymore that I remember from the first-time meeting him.”

Back in affiliated ball with the Pirates organization, Burrows has embraced that growth on his journey to get back to Double-A ball.

“I’m very, very, blessed to be in this position,” Burrows said. “Honestly, I didn’t know if it was gonna happen, if I was gonna be able to play minor league baseball or be in the business ever again. I’m very happy with the opportunity and taking full advantage of it.”

Now, donning Altoona’s railroad red, Burrows has certainly taken advantage of the opportunity the Pirates have given him.

He’s appeared in nine games across three different levels and has amassed a 1-0 record with 0.69 ERA and two saves while striking out 18 and walking three.

“It’s been great this year. I’ve obviously been through all the ups and downs, all the scenarios you can think of,” Burrows said. “Started out in Mexico this year, pitched well enough to be signed by the Pirates, and I’ve hit all three levels so far, and hopefully keep going up and keep having fun and just playing baseball.”

Burrows’ journey is nothing short of remarkable and it serves as a harsh reminder of how quickly things can go south for players in their development. It’s allowed him to have an ever greater perspective of what the game is about and how he can help be a better teammate.

“Being the older guy, like being in A ball these past few weeks, I’ve felt myself sharing knowledge and processes and ideas with younger guys who would ask me all kinds of questions,” Burrows said. “I feel like I’m doing my part now by helping out younger guys if they have any questions, I’m always going to answer them and talk to those guys about whatever they asked me. It’s been really rewarding so far.”

Coming through

Third baseman Kervin Pichardo was one of the finer parts of the Altoona offense with two hits in the loss on Wednesday and he picked up right where he left off after an off-day on Thursday.

He broke the game open in the fourth inning with his three-run home run to give the Curve a 4-0 lead.

“We’ve been wanting that big hit, and he came up, just had a really good at bat, and got to three and two, and was able to square it up,” Altoona manager Andy Fox said.

It was all the Curve offense would need in the victory.

Bullpen battles

When Jaden Woods entered the game for Po-Yu Chen in the fifth inning, he inherited the bases being loaded with two outs.

He induced a ground ball from Erie’s Carlos Mendoza and although it scored a run, Jack Brannigan was able to have the wherewithal to throw home and ensure only one run would score in the inning.

“Our bullpen has been a strength all year, and they’ve gone through situations,” Fox said. “You can see their confidence. Even when there’s traffic, they’re still able to slow the game down, execute pitches and limit damage.”

Justin Meis took over in the seventh inning and promptly gave up back-to-back singles and a walk to load the bases with no outs. He would strike out two hitters in a row before inducing a flyout to end the inning.

“It was the game right there,” Fox said. “They seemed to be gaining some momentum especially with bases loaded there, and being able to get out of that jam completes the game right there.”

Brannigan exits

Brannigan left Friday’s contest following the top half of the fifth inning when he was injured diving for a ground ball.

He will be evaluated by the team’s medical staff for an apparent shoulder injury.

Up next

Altoona sends RHP Alessandro Ercolani to the mound Saturday against the Seawolves. Ercolani 1-5 with a 4.54 ERA. On Sunday, it will be LHP Blake Townsend who gets the starting nod.

Townsend tossed three innings and gave up two runs in his start on Tuesday.