CINCINNATI -- The next stop for Reds starting pitcher Chase Burns is Philadelphia for the All-Star Game. But first was Burns' assignment on Wednesday: beating Philadelphia.
It turned out to be an uneven outing for Burns, who walked a career-high six batters in five innings, but he met the objective by being on the right side of an 11-5 victory at Great American Ball Park.
“I wasn’t feeling my best, but I just took it one pitch at a time trying to get through it," Burns said.
Burns, who left with a commanding four-run lead on the strength of five home runs -- including four during a five-run fourth inning -- gave up three runs and three hits with a season-low-tying two strikeouts. He became MLB's first starting pitcher to reach 11 wins. (Brewers reliever Aaron Ashby has 12 wins.)
It was only the third time in 18 starts this season that the 23-year-old gave up more than two runs. He didn't mind, though, because he overcame not having his best stuff on the mound.
“At the end of the day, that’s all that matters. Get out of there with a win," Burns said. "I’m thankful for it. It is what it is. It’s baseball, and on to the next one.”
Overall, Burns is 11-1 with a 2.54 ERA this season. On Saturday, he was named to the National League roster for his first All-Star Game -- which falls on Tuesday, exactly two years after he was the second overall selection in the 2024 MLB Draft.
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Burns fell into a 2-0 deficit in the second inning after Gabriel Rincones Jr. hit a one-out double off the wall in right-center field. Rincones scored one batter later when Justin Crawford hit an RBI triple down the right-field line. Crawford scored on a two-out wild pitch on a slider in the dirt.
In the top of the third inning, Burns gave up a two-out single to left field by Brandon Marsh, then got boosted by a great defensive play. On a Bryson Stott drive to center field, TJ Friedl made a spectacular catch while crashing face-first into the wall to save a run.
“Those guys are making plays all the time, just very much appreciative," Burns said. "TJ looked like Superman jumping up and catching that."
Sal Stewart's two-run home run to right field in the bottom of the third inning made it a 2-2 game, but Burns labored in the fourth inning. After a leadoff walk was erased by a nifty double play turned by second baseman Edwin Arroyo, Burns walked Crawford and J.T. Realmuto consecutively before getting Edmundo Sosa to fly out to left field to escape unscathed.
After the Reds' big fourth inning -- with homers by Noelvi Marte, Elly De La Cruz, Stewart (his second) and JJ Bleday -- Burns walked Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber back-to-back to open the fifth.
That's when Burns had to dig deep.
“I was panicking a little bit because you could tell he was leaving a lot of fastballs way up," manager Terry Francona said. "He had two strikeouts and six walks, that’s not Chase-like. But I really wanted him to get through that fifth, but I wasn’t going to let him go much longer.”
The only run the Phillies could pick up was on a Stott sacrifice fly to left field that brought home Harper from third base.
At a season-high 106 pitches, Burns did his job for the night.
"You’ve got to bear down in moments like that," he said. "I didn’t have my stuff, wasn’t feeling the best, but in an inning like that, you just have to get through it.”