PHILADELPHIA -- In his third big league start, Chase Burns held his own. Considering what had happened in his second start at Boston on Monday, the Reds were glad to have what the 22-year-old gave them on Sunday.
Burns overcame early danger and four walks to pitch 4 2/3 innings against the Phillies. But the Reds ran into ace Zack Wheeler, who dealt them a one-hit, complete game for a 3-1 loss at Citizens Bank Park. Cincinnati went 2-4 on the road trip after dropping series at Boston and Philadelphia.
"We’re trying to make one hit [hold up] and we’re being competitive and we have a chance. But that’s a hard way to win," manager Terry Francona said.
Burns allowed one run on two hits and four walks to go with seven strikeouts. While going the distance, Wheeler gave up only Austin Hays' fifth-inning homer to right field while yielding no walks and striking out 12.
Francona was still pleased with what Burns gave the Reds.
"We saw a few things today. He’ll compete. He didn’t back down," Francona said. "It’s not an easy lineup. He wasn’t commanding. There’s a lot of pitches. But he did OK.”
On Monday in a 13-6 loss to the Red Sox, Burns faced nine batters in a 33-pitch first inning and notched only one out before being pulled. He allowed seven runs (five earned) on five hits and two walks. There were concerns that Burns might have been tipping his pitches to Boston hitters.
In the five days between starts, Burns went to work with pitching coach Derek Johnson.
“A lot of reps. Two-touch and feels this week just to kind of go through the motions and make sure I’m not giving the other team any advantage. I felt like it helped clean up my mechanics a lot," said Burns, who is ranked as the Reds’ No. 1 prospect and No. 2 overall by MLB Pipeline.
“We kind of knew what small things that they could have been picking up on so it was just addressing those right away," added Burns, who was the second overall selection in the 2024 MLB Draft.
Against Philadelphia, things got dicey in the bottom of the first inning for Burns. Trea Turner had a 3-1 count before hitting a leadoff single to left field and Kyle Schwarber walked on four pitches.
“Sometimes, I can come out there a little juiced up so I was just taking a deep breath and taking it pitch by pitch, and getting one out at a time," Burns said.
Then, Burns found his footing. Bryce Harper looked at a 90 mph slider for a called third strike. Alec Bohm struck out swinging at a 99 mph fastball and Burns finished by getting Nick Castellanos to whiff at a 92 mph slider to end the inning.
Burns worked around another pair of walks to escape the second inning as well. A 1-2-3 inning with eight pitches against Schwarber, Harper and Bohm came in the third inning. Burns issued a one-out walk to Brandon Marsh in the bottom of the fifth inning and exited after getting a Turner flyout. Reliever Sam Moll let the inherited run score on a Schwarber RBI double that made it a 1-1 game.
After struggling to command his breaking ball in the earlier innings, Burns was instructed to use his fastball more.
“I felt like it was a really good pitch to set up all of my other pitches," Burns said. "They’re a very selective team so attacking with that fastball and letting them see it first is kind of huge for me.”
Since his promotion in June after only 13 professional starts, Burns has faced tough teams in the Yankees and then on the road vs. the Red Sox and Phillies. He has an 8.10 ERA in those starts, obviously inflated by his outing in Boston, but the experience has been important.
What has Burns learned?
“A lot. More than I can even say," he said. "Just talking with the guys, the other starters have been helping me a lot, kind of joking around about how I’m going against three really good lineups. I’ve been thrown into the fire. That’s the best way to learn.”