Burns (5 scoreless) leads Reds' shutout of Pirates to earn 1st MLB win

CINCINNATI -- The Reds’ rotation depth was immediately tested when Nick Lodolo's blister put him on the injured list to open the season. That was after Hunter Greene was already down until July with right elbow surgery to remove bone chips.

At least this first time through the rotation, Rhett Lowder and Chase Burns have helped ease concerns. On Monday in a 2-0 victory over the Pirates at Great American Ball Park, Burns looked mostly smooth for five innings while earning his first big league win.

“It helps a ton," manager Terry Francona said. "Not only did we not kill our bullpen, we won the game. That’s what we set out to do. A lot of good stuff tonight.”

It came after Lowder looked good during a five-inning no-decision in Sunday's series-clinching win over the Red Sox. The Reds have won three of the season's first four games.

“It hurts losing the two guys that we did with Hunter and Nick, and they’ll be back," catcher Tyler Stephenson said. "We saw glimpses of Rhett a couple of years ago and obviously Burns, with the impact he made last year. It’s a lot of depth and something we haven’t had, which is a good thing.”

At Spring Training, as he and Lowder competed for rotation spots before the injuries struck, Burns initially struggled to get ahead of hitters and then saw one start shortened as a "de-load" after improving his range of motion. By the end of camp and during last Tuesday's five-inning tuneup during an exhibition at Milwaukee, the 23-year-old seemed to turn a corner.

While throwing 78 pitches against Pittsburgh, Burns allowed one hit -- a leadoff single to right field by Spencer Horwitz in the fifth inning -- and three walks while striking out seven.

“It feels amazing," Burns said of win No. 1 after he was 0-3 with a 4.57 ERA in 13 games (including eight starts) as a rookie in 2025. "I’m just thankful God gave me this opportunity to play the game I love and get the first one. Hopefully, there’s many more to come.”

Burns largely worked with two pitches -- a four-seam fastball that maxed at 99.6 mph and a slider that was superb all evening.

“First time through the order, he was throwing a lot of sliders, and then the second time it was the heater," Pirates shortstop Jared Triolo said. "That was pretty dominant.”

“Electric," Stephenson said. "Things really clicked with him. After the first inning, he kind of settled down and got his groove.”

Burns worked around a one-out walk in the first inning and two walks in the fourth.

“Staying smooth. Staying with myself, not trying to do too much and filling up the zone," Burns said. "I still had some walks, still had some bad counts. I’ll get better as each outing goes.”

After Horwitz's hit, he was forced out on a fielder's choice. Burns struck out his final two batters -- Henry Davis and Oneil Cruz -- both on sliders.

Rookie Sal Stewart reached three more times in four plate appearances, becoming the youngest player to reach base safely three or more times in each of his team’s first four games since at least 1900. In the bottom of the fourth inning against Pirates starter Braxton Ashcraft, Stewart drew a one-out walk and reached third base on Eugenio Suárez's single to right-center field. Stewart scored on Spencer Steer's sacrifice fly to right field.

Will Benson's RBI triple to right field plated Suárez for the two-run Reds lead.

Not only was it a night with a first big league win, there was also a debut and a first big league save recorded. With Burns' night finished, the Reds turned to Jose Franco (their No. 12 prospect, per MLB Pipeline) to make his Major League debut in the top of the sixth inning. Franco worked 1 2/3 innings but gave up a pair of singles in the seventh and departed with two outs before Graham Ashcraft struck out Davis to escape the jam.

“It made everything reach because we had to be careful," Francona said. "Not only did we have three guys down, but if you go extra innings, you’ve got to have a pitcher. If anybody got in trouble, we might have been in trouble. They picked each other up.”

Closer Emilio Pagán was unavailable, as were fellow veteran relievers Pierce Johnson and Tony Santillan. Francona turned the ninth over to Connor Phillips, who survived walking his first two batters to retire his next three for the save.

“Young guys did it and it’s exciting," Stephenson said.