KANSAS CITY, MO. -- Twins reliever Jared Burton had a streak from from April 13 through May 11 when he faced 34 batters, spanning 11 appearances, without allowing a hit.
Now, the big righthander is streaking again.
Burton has made six consecutive appearances without allowing a run. In three games on this road trip, he retired all nine batters he faced, including eight via strikeout.
"My put-away pitches are just really locked in right now," Burton said. "I'm executing them. I'm getting ahead [in the count] and then going into put-away mode, and it's just working right now.
"Early in the year, it was mainly my change-up. I'd say the last couple weeks my slider's starting to feel a little better, so I have another option to go to. It gives them a different look, and something else to have in the back of their head."
Needless to say, Burton was a tremendous pick-up by the Twins last offseason. They signed him to a minor-league deal based on a strong recommendation from assistant to the GM Wayne Krivsky.
"He's got a great arm, and he's healthy," Manager Ron Gardenhire said of Burton, who has one blown lead this year and nine holds. "Along with [Glen] Perkins, we can back those two up and get to Capps. It's pretty good situation."
