WASHINGTON — There is one badge of honor for Mike Burrows, a pitcher whose brutal first half of the season must have him on borrowed time. No American League starter has a higher ERA, WHIP or is allowing a higher batting average, but Burrows does deliver deep outings.It is a consolation for his calamitous introduction to the Houston Astros. Burrows is becoming a burden to their rotation, though he is still a savior for their bullpen. The 94 2/3 innings he has thrown are a team high. Fifteen of his first 16 starts featured at least five frames.For a pitching staff that missed Hunter Brown for two months and failed to replace Framber Valdez with anyone established, that matters. More is expected from a player who cost two touted prospects to acquire, but this is what Burrows has become. It is underwhelming, yet still useful.So, on Monday, there stood Burrows in the fifth inning of a game he’d already given away. He took the mound in the third with a five-run lead against the Washington Nationals. Burrows handed it back after facing five batters. One of them walked, and four others had hits that left their bats faster than 98 mph. CJ Abrams’ score-tying three-run homer concluded the sort of brutal sequence that has defined Burrows’ dismal stretch.Why this July will be an exciting month for MLBKen Rosenthal and Johnny Sweet“I just feel like I let our team down,” Burrows said after the 12-11 loss. “They gave me a good lead, and I kinda spoiled it.”After he did, Burrows began to settle. Between the third and fourth innings, he retired six of seven hitters. The lone runner reached on an infield single that traveled 3 feet. This has been Burrows’ formula — fall apart, find a way to fight through five or six frames, and give Houston’s offense a chance to come back. He seeks quick contact, fills the strike zone and becomes efficient.“We just have to create some opportunities for him to go to areas where we can get some quick outs,” manager Joe Espada said. “He’s shown signs of that, but we need more consistency out of his pitches.“There’s signs where he throws a couple of good pitches, where you’re like, ‘OK, that’s the shape that we want. That’s the location we want.’ But it’s creating more consistency. Can we do it for two or three innings in a row?”