Burns makes history, gets 'everything I could ask for' in electric debut

CINCINNATI – As a kid growing up in Tennessee, Chase Burns liked the Yankees and, typical of many a young person, occasionally envisioned himself wearing the pinstripes. But on Tuesday night at Great American Ball Park, none of that fandom mattered as the 22-year-old Burns was in a Reds uniform making his Major League debut against the Yankees.

Over five innings, Burns allowed three runs and six hits with no walks and eight strikeouts while throwing 81 pitches (53 strikes). He left trailing, 3-0, before the Reds battled back to take a 5-4 walk-off victory in 11 innings. Burns is the first starting pitcher in at least the Expansion Era (since 1961) to strike out his first five batters faced in his MLB debut, per the Elias Sports Bureau.

Cincinnati scored twice in the final inning, with pinch-hitter Gavin Lux delivering a bases-loaded single into center field that scored Elly De La Cruz with the winning run as the Reds claimed the first two games of the three-game series.

“Everything I could ask for, to walk it off like that, to be in the dugout and see that. There’s nothing better than that," Burns said.

While the final decision did not include Burns, no one will soon forget how his night began. Clearly not intimidated from the get-go, Cincinnati's No. 1 prospect (No. 11 overall) struck out the side against the Yankees in the first inning, setting down Trent Grisham, Ben Rice and reigning American League Most Valuable Player Aaron Judge.

It took all of 14 pitches – including nine strikes. Against Judge, who came in batting .367 with 28 homers, Burns threw a first-pitch slider for a called ball that appeared to be strike one. Then he fired three straight strikes – a 99.3 mph fastball, a 92.2 mph slider and a 91.1 mph slider that had Judge swinging and missing.

"I’ve watched him. He’s a big dude, one of the best hitters in the game. That’s probably my favorite one," Burns replied when asked for his favorite K.

Burns – the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft – became the second Reds pitcher in the Live Ball Era (since 1920) to strike out the side in the first inning of his MLB debut, joining Mo Sanford on Aug. 9, 1991.

"He's running up there at 100 miles an hour. Good feel for all his breaking pitches," Judge said. "It was impressive seeing him go out there and doing his thing. Usually you see young guys like that, kind of amped up, kind of throwing it all over the place. But he did a good job attacking the zone and kind of running us there the first time through the lineup."

In the second inning, Burns picked up where he left off from the first by striking out Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt before Jazz Chisholm Jr. connected for a single into right field. Burns bounced back to strike out Anthony Volpe for six strikeouts in his first seven batters faced.

“It was fun, those first two innings," Burns said. "I felt like after the first batter, I kind of settled in there. I was amped up, so it was fun.”

“That was pretty cool," manager Terry Francona said. "We kind of watched for everything. He didn’t get too excited. I think he enjoyed the competition. There’s a lot to like.”

Before the game, Burns met with catcher Tyler Stephenson and pitching coach Derek Johnson to go over the Yankees’ lineup. Keep in mind that for Burns, this was only his 14th start as a professional.

“It was funny,” Stephenson said. “We did our little meeting with D.J. He’s like, ‘You nervous?’ [Burns] kind of hesitated and said, ‘A little bit.’ Johnson replied, ‘Good, you’re human.’ Then for him to go out that first inning and do what he did.

“I felt like I got chills when he punched out Judge there and seeing the fans and everybody kind of react. Super excited for him. His stuff’s legit.”

Heading out on the field, Burns took in the atmosphere with 39,257 fans in attendance.

"When we were walking down from the bullpen and he was like, ‘This is sick,’" Stephenson said.

“Definitely when I first got on the mound to start the warmups, I definitely looked around," Burns said. "And then after that strikeout in the first inning, it all settled for me that it was real.”

Following a perfect third inning that featured a pair of groundouts and a called strike three to Grisham, the Yankees finally got to Burns in the top of the fourth. Leading off, Rice attacked a first-pitch slider for a home run to right field.

“It happens. It’s baseball," Burns said. "I just didn’t execute the pitch well enough, and good hitters like that are going to hit. It’s being able to bounce back.”

Judge followed with a single to center. A two-out single to right field by Chisholm set up Volpe, who hit a liner to center field. TJ Friedl missed with his diving attempt as two runs scored while Volpe motored to third base with a triple.

Returning for the fifth, Burns regained his footing. After a leadoff hit, he retired the next three batters. His final batter was Judge, and instead of walking him with a base open, Burns went right after him.

“Just trust my stuff, really. It’s a batter. He still has to hit the ball," Burns said.

A first-pitch fastball up and inside to Judge was popped up behind first base.

“Thank God," Burns thought as he headed to the dugout, where he was told by Francona that his night was complete.

“I think probably, for him, he was a little overamped," Francona said. "You could tell he was starting to run out of gas a little bit.”

While the Reds did not solve Yankees starter Carlos Rodón, who dealt six scoreless innings, they rallied in the seventh vs. reliever Jonathan Loáisiga. Following a one-out walk by Stephenson and singles by Rece Hinds and Jose Trevino, Christian Encarnacion-Strand evened the game with a three-run double down the left-field line.

Cincinnati's bullpen retired 14 of the first 15 batters after Burns departed. New York scored a go-ahead run in the top of the 11th on a wild pitch by Connor Phillips. The Reds responded when Spencer Steer drove in the tying run with a single. Two batters later, Lux came through as the Reds (42-38) won for the 12th time in 17 games, and they've taken five of their past six series.

Lux spent much of the game in the dugout watching Burns cook.

"Wow, that guy. His stuff was electric," Lux said. "He’s not scared at all. To see him come in here against one of the best lineups in baseball and just go to work and not be scared at all and just attack guys, that was fun to watch.”