Burnes to have MRI after exiting start with elbow discomfort

The Arizona Diamondbacks announced that ace Corbin Burnes will go for an MRI on Monday to examine his right elbow discomfort, according to Jack Sommers of Sports Illustrated.

Burnes left in the fifth inning of Sunday's start against the Washington Nationals. The 2021 NL Cy Young winner motioned toward the dugout following his 70th and final pitch of the outing. The velocity on his cutter was also down during the frame.

(Video source: MLB.com)

"It just got to the point where the tightness was just too much," Burnes said after the D-Backs' 3-1 win, according to Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. "I waved them out and didn't feel like we needed to push any farther. So hopefully, we caught it early. Hopefully, it's not bad, but we'll see."

The four-time All-Star added: "I've never had anything like it before, so I really have nothing to compare it to. My body does a pretty good job of telling me when I need to not do things and when I can push things, and it was telling me not to push it."

Burnes dominated before his injury, as he didn't allow a run on four hits with six strikeouts and one walk over 4 2/3 innings. However, he was charged with one earned run after reliever Jalen Beeks surrendered an RBI single to Nathaniel Lowe.

Arizona signed Burnes to a six-year, $210-million contract during the offseason.