Burns turns Reds' pitching woes around with best start of young career

PITTSBURGH -- Chase Burns put together the best start of his young Major League career, and it was also the finest start delivered by any Reds pitcher so far this season.

That still wasn't enough for Cincinnati to get a win in Pittsburgh.

Burns took a shutout into the eighth inning of a scoreless game and departed after giving up a leadoff single to Marcell Ozuna. Although Tony Santillan erased Ozuna with a double play, two-out trouble did him and the Reds in for a 1-0 loss that completed the Pirates' three-game sweep at PNC Park.

“He pitched his rear end off, man," manager Terry Francona said of Burns. "He pitched so well on a day when we really needed it for a lot of reasons. One, he gave us a chance to win and two, saved our bullpen. He went out and pitched like a really good veteran.”

Santillan gave up a double and a walk before Oneil Cruz hit a fastball above the strike zone for an RBI single to center field for the go-ahead run.

“Tony does such a good job with the running game, and I thought Chase was tiring, so that’s why we brought Tony in when we did," Francona said. "I just think a good hitter went up and got a good pitch.”

Cincinnati (20-14) has dropped four of its last five games on the heels of being one of baseball's hottest teams. It was also the first time the Reds were swept in a series this season. And their perfect 12-0 record in games decided by two or fewer runs was also ended.

Burns completed a career-high seven innings -- also a team-high for 2026 -- while allowing three hits and one walk with seven strikeouts. It came after back-to-back blowout losses where the starters combined to throw 4 2/3 innings.

“I knew that going in, the pitching was banged-up the past couple of days. So it was just going out there and seeing how far I could go," said Burns, who threw 94 pitches. “I just wanted to be there for the guys and pick them up like they’ve picked me up.”

After giving up a chopped infield single to Cruz to open the bottom of the first inning, Burns retired the next 16 batters in a row. That included a six-pitch fifth inning as he rolled into the sixth with 60 pitches. A one-out single by Joey Bart ended the streak of outs, but Burns got out of that frame still scoreless.

Burns did nearly all of his dominating using mostly two pitches -- his four-seam fastball and slider. The slider was responsible for six of his strikeouts, although he dialed up a game-high 100.5 mph fastball to strike out Nick Gonzales to end the seventh inning with a big yell as he left the mound.

Pirates starter Braxton Ashcraft was equally effective, matching Burns with zeroes over 7 2/3 innings. Ashcraft faced one batter over the minimum over his first five innings.

“[Burns] mixed in some changeups late in the game. When you get that third time through the order, that’s important too," Francona said. "He threw a couple of leading changeups to get ahead. His stuff is so good. Both guys today, they almost mirrored each other -- velocity, breaking ball, there wasn’t a whole lot going on.”

Jose Trevino's one-out double off Ashcraft put runners on second and third base in the eighth inning. But Ashcraft got Matt McLain to ground to third base, and Gonzales nailed Spencer Steer at the plate before lefty reliever Gregory Soto struck out TJ Friedl to end the threat.

It was the second time this season that Burns was not rewarded for a strong effort. On April 16, when the Reds were handed a 3-0 loss by the Giants, the 23-year-old pitched six scoreless innings with two hits allowed.

“It’s baseball. It happens," Burns said. "You can’t do anything about that stuff. You just go out there and do your job. Stuff happens. On to the next one.”

The road trip moves on to Chicago for four games, and Monday's opener at Wrigley Field will see the Reds call up No. 7 prospect Chase Petty to make the start. Petty had a 19.50 ERA in three big league games that were a struggle last season.

That could make Burns’ deep start even more critical heading into the series. Despite their heavy usage on Friday and Saturday, relievers should be fresh for Monday behind Petty.

“If we have a chance to win tomorrow, it will be a lot because of Burns today," Francona said. "He really picked us up.”