Burke (5-5) was charged with the loss and a blown save Thursday against St. Louis, allowing six unearned runs on two hits and three walks while striking out one.
Reds manager Terry Francona eschewed using closer Emilio Pagan for a second straight day, instead bringing in Burke to close out a one-run lead to begin the top of the ninth inning. Burke was on the verge of getting the job done, but an error on a routine fly led to six unearned runs. Pagan had thrown 19 pitches Wednesday, and Francona may have considered the team's top closer unavailable, but his decision to turn to Burke may also have been matchup-based -- top right-handed setup man Pierce Johnson hasn't pitched since Monday but went completely unused in the contest.
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Reds' Brock Burke: Impressive in save
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Burke struck out all three batters he faced in the ninth inning to pick up the save in Sunday's 2-1 win over the Rangers.
With three key members of the bullpen unavailable having pitched the previous two games, including closer Emilio Pagan, manager Terry Francona had to rely on middle relievers. Pierce Johnson, Sam Moll and Connor Phillips got the game into the ninth inning. Burke finished it off from there with a 1-2-3 ninth for his first save of the season and of his career.
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Reds' Brock Burke: Bolsters Reds' bullpen
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Burke was traded from the Angels to the Reds in a three-team deal Thursday that also included the Rays, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports. The full trade has Gavin Lux and Chris Clark are going to Tampa Bay while Josh Lowe heads to Anaheim.
The Reds swapped Lux for Burke in this trade, which is the club's latest in a series of moves to bolster its bullpen. Burke had a solid 3.36 ERA and 1.23 WHIP across 61.2 innings in 2025, and he has served in a high-leverage role for most of the last four seasons, recording 37 holds but no saves.
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Angels' Brock Burke: Starting bullpen game
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Burke will serve as the Angels' starting pitcher Wednesday against the Mets in what's expected to be a bullpen game, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.
Burke has posted a 3.38 ERA and 1.35 WHIP this season while primarily serving in middle relief, but the Angels will use him to begin Wednesday's contest, marking his first start of the season. The 28-year-old has just four appearances of more than one inning on the campaign, so he'll likely turn the game over to the bullpen at some point during the bottom of the second.
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Angels' Brock Burke: Secures 10th hold Friday
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Burke notched a hold against the Diamondbacks on Friday with a perfect inning of work.
Burke inherited a 5-4 lead when he entered in the sixth inning and breezed through a trio of Arizona hitters on 13 pitches. The southpaw hasn't been getting used much in high-leverage situations of late -- this was his first hold since June 16 -- but he's been one of the Angels' most effective relievers for the past month. Since June 7, Burke has posted a 0.73 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 10:5 K:BB over 12.1 frames spanning 17 appearances. He's largely been used in brief spurts as a lefty specialist, as nine of those 17 outings have lasted less than one full inning.
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Angels' Brock Burke: Notches victory in relief
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Burke (3-0) earned the win over the Blue Jays on Wednesday, walking one batter in a scoreless and hitless inning of work.
Burke pitched the ninth inning for the Angels, who were down 4-2 at the time. He threw just four of 11 pitches for strikes but did his job by keeping Toronto off the scoreboard and was rewarded when Jorge Soler's walk-off double gave Los Angeles a comeback victory. Burke's 4.85 season ERA is marred by a four-run blowup against St. Louis in early April, but he's otherwise been a mostly positive part of the Angels' bullpen with three wins and four holds over 14 appearances.
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Angels' Brock Burke: Settles at $1.15 million
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Burke signed a one-year, $1.15 million contract with the Angels on Wednesday to avoid arbitration, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.
Burke logged a 3.54 ERA and 1.13 WHIP over 20.1 innings upon joining the Angels in August -- good enough to earn the southpaw a nice $90,000 raise for the upcoming season. He didn't pitch often in high-leverage situations, finishing 2024 with just one hold and a blown save, though that could change if his success carries over into 2025.
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Angels' Brock Burke: Claimed by Angels
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The Angels claimed Burke off waivers from the Rangers on Tuesday.
Burke had been designated for assignment earlier this week and has now been scooped up by an American League West rival. The left-handed reliever holds a career 4.22 ERA and 172:53 K:BB across 182.1 innings over parts of four big-league seasons.
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Rangers' Brock Burke: Moved off 40-man roster
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The Rangers designated Burke for assignment Sunday.
The transaction opens up a spot on the 40-man roster and in the big-league bullpen for right-hander Matt Festa, who was called up from Triple-A Round Rock. Since breaking his right hand in April and missing two months of action, Burke struggled to bounce back upon returning from the shelf. Over his eight appearances with Texas since being activated, Burke posted a 7.59 ERA and 1.88 WHIP across 10.2 innings.
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Rangers' Brock Burke: Summoned from Triple-A
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The Rangers recalled Burke from Triple-A Round Rock on Sunday.
Burke will ring in his 28th birthday with a return to the big club after spending just over a month in the minors. The southpaw has been roughed up over his 10 appearances out of the Texas bullpen this season, giving up eight earned runs on 13 hits and six walks while striking out 11 across 9.2 innings.
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Rangers' Brock Burke: Sent to Triple-A
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The Rangers optioned Burke to Triple-A Round Rock on Sunday, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.
The left-hander gave up three runs in his past two outings and will head to Triple-A in order to make room for infielder Jonathan Ornelas, who was called up Sunday. Burke has struggled to a 7.45 ERA and 11:6 K:BB in 10 outings for Texas this season.
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Rangers' Brock Burke: Shifts rehab to Triple-A
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The Rangers transferred Burke's (hand) rehab assignment from the rookie-level Arizona Complex League to Triple-A Round Rock on Wednesday.
Burke struck out four over two scoreless innings between a pair of appearances in the ACL. He'll likely stick around with Round Rock for at least the next two weeks, as he's not eligible to return from the 60-day injured list until mid-June.
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Rangers' Brock Burke: Lands on injured list
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The Rangers placed Burke on the 15-day injured list Saturday with a broken right hand, Jeff Wilson of RangersToday.com reports.
Burke broke his hand after punching a wall following his appearance Friday, during which he surrendered four earned runs across two-thirds of an inning. He's likely in line for an extended stay on the injured list, though the injury is to his non-throwing hand. The Rangers selected Austin Pruitt's contract from Triple-A Round Rock to fill Burke's spot on the active roster.
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Rangers' Brock Burke: Gets $1 million from Rangers
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Burke signed a one-year, $1 million contract with the Rangers on Thursday to avoid arbitration, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.
Burke struggled with the long ball in 2023, serving up 2.0 HR/9 across 59.2 frames. He had a relatively strong 17.2 K-BB%, so he could see some improvement moving forward if he can keep the ball in the yard.
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Rangers' Brock Burke: Earns second win
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Burke (2-0) pitched a scoreless 1.1 innings to earn Tuesday's win over the Diamondbacks.
Burke retired all four batters faced on balls that never left the infield. After starter Jon Gray worked 5.1 innings, Burke was the pitcher of record when Ezequiel Duran put Texas ahead for good with a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning. The left-hander has remained unscathed in a bullpen that's taken its lumps recently. He's not overpowering, but Burke hasn't allowed a run in seven innings and has a 2.03 ERA over 13.1 innings.
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Rangers' Brock Burke: Works scoreless seventh
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Burke allowed one hit and struck out one over a scoreless seventh inning in Monday's spring game against Cincinnati.
Burke has been mentioned as a possible candidate for saves and part of a closer mix. This was his first Cactus League appearance. Of note, Jose Leclerc, the leading candidate to close, pitched a scoreless fourth inning.
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Rangers' Brock Burke: Takes fourth loss
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Burke (7-4) took the loss against the Guardians on Saturday, allowing two runs on two hits while issuing two walks and striking out two batters over 2.1 innings.
Burke entered the game in the seventh and struck out Oscar Gonzalez swinging to start the inning before giving up a solo homer to Andres Gimenez on a 2-1 slider. After retiring the next two batters, Burke returned in the eighth and allowed a leadoff walk to Steven Kwan followed by a ground-rule double in the next at-bat to put the Rangers down 3-1. The reliever has still allowed just three earned runs in six September appearances (10.1 innings) with a 12:6 K:BB over that stretch.
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Rangers' Brock Burke: Throws two innings, earns hold
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Burke allowed zero runs on one hit and one walk while striking out three over two innings in Monday's 2-1 win over the Athletics.
Burke entered the game with a 2-1 lead in the seventh inning and threw two scoreless innings to secure his seventh hold of the season. The southpaw has taken to his transition to the bullpen this season, as he owns a 1.29 ERA and 0.97 WHIP. A lot can be chalked up to luck as he owns a high 92.5 percent strand rate and low 7.5 percent HR/FB rate, but he has gotten the job done and could be a source of strong ratios the rest of the season in deeper leagues.
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Rangers' Brock Burke: Takes home third win
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Burke (3-0) was credited with Tuesday's win, allowing three hits and striking out one over 2.1 scoreless innings in a 6-4 victory over Philadelphia.
Burke followed starter Jon Gray, who was pulled after three innings and 60 pitches in his first start back off the injured list. A starter in the minor leagues, Burke is filling a long-relief role in the majors. Tuesday's effort was the sixth time in eight appearances he's logged at least six outs. The left-hander's struck out 21 compared to just three walks over 14 innings.
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Rangers' Brock Burke: Throws two scoreless
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Burke allowed one hit and struck out two over two scoreless innings in Tuesday's 5-1 loss to the Astros.
The Rangers' bats took a holiday Tuesday -- just three hits -- but manager Chris Woodward got strong work from the bullpen. This was the fourth time in six outings that Burke has thrown multiple innings, and the 25-year-old lefty is thriving. He's allowed two runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out 16 over 9.2 innings.
