The Reds have a long-standing partnership with local pizza chain LaRosa’s. If Cincinnati pitchers put together 11 strikeouts in a home game, fans in attendance can use their ticket to redeem a free pizza within the next week.
But even in several years of this promotion, we’ve never seen the Redlegs clinch complimentary pies like they did Tuesday night.
In the top of the ninth inning of a 7-2 game against the Rockies with 10 K's already on the board, left-hander Brock Burke worked ahead of Edouard Julien 1-2. He delivered a 97.9 mph fastball that came close to the outside corner but was deemed a ball by home-plate umpire Carlos Torres.
Catcher Tyler Stephenson had none of it. Even in a five-run game, he was going to get that pizza for the Reds faithful.
Stephenson immediately tapped his helmet to initiate an ABS challenge. The pitch officially nabbed the outside corner by 1.1 inches, and the crowd loved it. It was easily one of the loudest cheers of the night, right alongside a homer and stellar defense from Elly De La Cruz.
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“I guess that was kind of like the perfect storm to get the pizza,” Stephenson said afterward with a smile. “Yeah, it was eventful, and probably one of the better [Tuesday] crowds I’ve seen, too. So it was really fun tonight.”
Burke would’ve gotten pizzas for the fans anyway, striking out Hunter Goodman with a 98.7 mph heater for the game’s final out two batters later. But the ABS system has certainly been a hit with in-stadium crowds to begin 2026.
And with pizza on the line? It doesn’t get better than that.