ARLINGTON -- Until Sunday afternoon, Chase Burns hadn't pitched into the seventh inning for the Reds. With how well Burns was working against the Rangers over his first six scoreless innings -- plus a shorthanded bullpen -- manager Terry Francona didn't mind pushing his 23-year-old right-hander.
This time, it didn't work. Burns gave up a wind-aided, game-tying solo home run to Joc Pederson to lead off the seventh. But Cincinnati still emerged with a 2-1 win over Texas and secured a three-game series sweep at Globe Life Field. Elly De La Cruz's RBI single scored Matt McLain from second base for the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth inning.
“It’s like building confidence, Tito having trust in me to go out there to set the tone for that seventh inning. It didn’t work out, but I’m glad we came out on top," Burns said.
Burns finished with one earned run and five hits over his six-plus innings with one walk and nine strikeouts. Over his two starts, he has a 0.82 ERA, which includes his five scoreless innings for his first Major League win on Monday vs. the Pirates.
As the Reds try to navigate without injured pitchers Nick Lodolo and Hunter Greene in their rotation, they are 4-0 in games started by either Burns or Rhett Lowder.
During his 2025 rookie season, Burns had triple-digit velocity, but lacked efficiency as pitch counts escalated quickly. Much like his previous start against Boston, he attacked with strikes and set up hitters.
“Damn, he’s nasty. He made my life easy," said first baseman Sal Stewart, who made an alert throw to second base on Wyatt Langford's sixth-inning grounder for a fielder's choice. "He’s such a good person. I’m so happy to see him doing well. He’s going to have a long, long career. Man, was he really, really good, and it’s so fun to watch.”
Burns threw a first-pitch strike to 18 of his 24 batters, but when he started hitters with his four-seam fastball, he was 11-for-14 on first-pitch strikes.
“Every time you just want to go up there and fill up the zone. Get strike one and go from there after that," Burns said.
Burns averaged 98.7 mph and topped out at 100.7 with his four-seam fastball. His strikeout of Pederson to end the fourth inning was 100.2 mph. He also notched multiple strikeouts with his slider.
“He didn’t get the win today, but if he pitches like that, he’s going to get a lot of wins," Francona said. "That was pretty special. Everybody sees the velocity, but he was spinning the ball. It was hard to see for both teams today, so if you change speeds, it really gave the hitters fits.”
Francona sees plenty of growth from Burns, who was the second overall pick in the 2024 Draft and made only 13 Minor League starts before his June 24 big league debut last season.
“The kid is bright, and he listens, and he wants to be good. He’s just learning," Francona said. "As he learns, it’s going to get fun. It’s going to get exciting.”
In the sixth inning with a 1-0 lead, Burns had the tying run on second base and two outs when he struck out Jake Burger with a slider to escape.
Especially with back-of-the-bullpen relievers Graham Ashcraft, Tony Santillan and closer Emilio Pagán all unavailable after pitching the previous two games, the Reds needed more from Burns. He had 80 pitches through six innings.
“I thought he was pitching to the point where he was OK. He didn’t look tired to me," Francona said.
Leading off the bottom of the seventh, Pederson lifted his game-tying homer to right field. The ballpark roof was open, and a stiff wind blowing to right field added 25 feet to the 361-foot drive, according to Statcast.
After the next batter, Evan Carter, had an infield hit on Burns’ 87th pitch, the right-hander was lifted. Pierce Johnson took over and gave up a walk and a wild pitch. Taking over with two outs, Sam Moll ended the jam.
Burns was in the dugout and got fired up when Moll struck out Brandon Nimmo.
“I was on the rail just hyped for them, especially Sam Moll," Burns said.
Connor Phillips handled the eighth inning and survived two-out danger from a double and a walk. Veteran lefty Brock Burke struck out the side in the ninth for his first career save.
“It was awesome for all of us," Burke said. "We had our guys down, normally our 7-8-9 guys. For us to go out there in 7-8-9 and close it down, I think that’s huge, for confidence early for all of us.”