PHILADELPHIA – The Reds have struggled through the month of May, looking for something to ignite a turnaround.
In what has become a trend every five days, Chase Burns is hoping to be that spark.
Burns continued his remarkable run, playing the role of stopper in a 4-1 win over the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, leading Cincinnati to a rare road victory.
In four starts this month, Burns is 3-0 with a 0.72 ERA, earning three of his team’s five wins since May 1.
“There have been some days where we've been kind of up against it and he's gone out there and given us what we needed,” manager Terry Francona said. “He’s been really good. He's young and he's learning fast – and we appreciate that.”
The win was the Reds’ second in 12 road games this month, giving them a chance to win a series for only the second time this month.
“Ride the wave, stay as level as possible,” Burns said. “We're going to have good times, we're going to have bad times; it’s just weathering the storm.”
With losses in 13 of their first 17 games in May -- a swoon that dropped the Reds from first place in the National League Central to last -- the Reds needed Burns to provide more quality innings Tuesday night, taking the onus off of Cincinnati’s overworked and ineffective bullpen.
Burns answered the call, holding the red-hot Phillies to one run on three hits over six innings, striking out nine without issuing a walk.
“I don't know if I really think about it like that,” Burns said. “I just go out there and try to do my job to the best of my ability; if I can put up as many zeros as I can, then I did my job and helped the team win.”
Not that anybody should have been surprised; Tuesday marked only the sixth time in 18 games this month in which a Reds starter went at least six innings, with Burns accounting for four of them.
“I actually think he kind of relishes that,” Francona said. “I think that's part of his MO, which I think for a young kid, it's admirable. And it's noticeable.”
Burns’ lone blemish was a solo home run by Trea Turner in the third inning, but the 23-year-old right-hander was unfazed, retiring the next 10 batters in order -- six of them via strikeout.
The Reds answered back in the top of the fourth, loading the bases against Jesús Luzardo with nobody out. Dane Myers and JJ Bleday lifted a pair of sacrifice flies to give Cincinnati a lead, giving Burns all the support he needed.
The Reds tacked on two runs in the seventh, but Burns – who took a comebacker off his left groin/hamstring area in the bottom of the sixth – was finished after 86 pitches.
“Man, I'll tell you what, that was scary,” Francona said. “The way he ran off the mound. I thought he was OK; then he got in the dugout and looked like he was dead. I said, ‘Hey, man, please tell me you have a cup on,’ and he said no. I said ‘Chase, I don't even watch a game on TV without wearing a cup.’ It just made it really easy to take him out there.”
“It hurt, for sure,” Burns said. “It will be good. I took one out of Brady Singer's book of getting hit, but it'll be fine.”
A trio of relievers did the job over the final three innings, but Burns was the story of the night, just as he’s been pretty much every time he’s taken the mound in 2026.
Francona resisted putting any “ace” labels on Burns, but it’s hard to watch the righty pitch this season and not think the Reds may be watching the second overall pick from the 2024 Draft blossom into a No. 1 starter.
“I think he's special now, but what he grows into will be what he grows into,” Francona said. “I don't need to sit here and put a number on him or something; that's not fair. As long as he does the best he can to be as good as he can, we'll do what we need to do.”
Burns isn’t scheduled to pitch in Philadelphia again this season, though that could change if he’s selected to represent the NL in the All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park. The logo for the Midsummer Classic overlooks the ballpark from high atop center field, but Burns wasn’t paying it any mind.
“I'm not thinking about that,” Burns said. “It might be in the back of my mind somewhere, but I'm just trying to go out there and do my job every time.”