Diamondbacks' Corbin Burnes has best start of season vs. Cubs

It may not have been a masterpiece of a start, but Corbin Burnes showed enough on Friday to give Arizona Diamondbacks fans a reminder of what kind of pitching he can bring to a team looking to keep pace in the ultra-deep National League West.

Pitching in familiar territory (Wrigley Field in Chicago, where he has now pitched in 11 games after spending six seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers), Burnes didn't overpower the Chicago Cubs but did enough to work out of trouble and hold the Cubs to just two runs on a day when the wind was blowing out on the North Side.

Entering the day with a 5.28 ERA over his first three outings (15.1 innings), Burnes worked his way out of trouble to post his second straight quality start. 

In all, Burnes threw 98 pitches, scattering six hits and allowing a pair of runs on Carson Kelly's two-run, second-inning home run. The right-hander didn't allow a walk and struck out three, marking the first time in his four starts with Arizona that he hadn't issued a free pass.

Burnes struggled in the second inning, needing 31 pitches to get out of the frame. Chicago batters not only worked the counts deep against Burnes, but also didn't allow Burnes to close out the frame. With two outs, Pete Crow-Armstong hit a double and Kelly (who is red hot at the plate) haunted his former franchise by blasting a two-run homer to center on a 2-2 pitch where Burnes missed his location badly.