Sean Burke got into some early trouble, but otherwise, he continued the recent tradition of the Chicago White Sox getting a strong Opening Day start.
Like Dylan Cease in 2023 and Garrett Crochet in 2024, Burke absolutely dazzled on the mound in such a high-profile game.
Just like Crochet last season, Burke was a surprising choice to be the Opening Day starter.
Crochet was a surprise after only pitching in 73 big-league innings before last year's Opening Day start, and all of them were in relief.
Burke had even less MLB experience after having just four big-league appearances to his name, with three of them coming as starts.
They were an impressive three starts last season. Add in his moxie on the mound, you can see that he had the temperament to be an Opening Day starter. It just was not expected to be this soon.
The moment did not faze him outside of the first inning.
He allowed a lead-off double to start the game and hit Mike Trout with a pitch. Otherwise, only two Los Angeles Angels baserunners got to second base and beyond. Most importantly, no one crossed home.
Burke pitched six strong innings in the Sox's 8-1 victory. He allowed just three hits and struck out three.
Opening Day nod?
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) March 27, 2025
No problem for @whitesox rookie Sean Burke:
6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K pic.twitter.com/DCtno0XUy0
That impressive performance carries on a precedent of strong Opening Day starts set by Cease in 2023.
That is when Cease ruined the ring ceremony for the Houston Astros, who were coming off winning the 2022 World Series.
Dylan went 6.1 innings in the Sox's first game of the 2023 season, where he gave up just one run, two hits, and struck out 10. Turns out that would be the most impressive game of the season as the Sox went on to lose 101 games.
Cease was traded before Opening Day last season and Crochet was the surprise choice to be the Opening Day starter despite making his last start in college.
He, too, was amazing against the Detroit Tigers, as he allowed just one run, five hits, and struck out eight. The problem was he got outdueled by eventual AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal.
Burke may not have struck out as many batters as Cease and Crochet, but he did top them by blanking the Angels.
The hope is Burke has a strong season much like Crochet had last season when he went onto making the AL All-Star team.
The other hope is that Burke is not traded next offseason to break another Sox recent tradition that started with Lucas Giolito in 2022--trading away the Opening Day starter.