Cincinnati Reds Starting Pitcher Chase Burns had a debut for the ages this evening at home against the New York Yankees. He struck out the first five batters he faced and had four pitches of 100+ MPH in the top of the 1st inning. He is the only pitcher in the last 50 years to strike out the first five batters he faced in his MLB debut. Burns was also the second pitcher in the Expansion Era (1961) to strike out the side in the first inning of his MLB debut and do so against a reigning pennant winner. He joined John Parrish on 7/24/2000 against the Yankees on that exclusive list.
The rookie was nearly perfect through three innings but ran into some issues in the top of the 4th. A Ben Rice solo home run and Anthony Volpe 2-run triple gave New York an early 3-0 lead. Bruns settled in to finish tonight’s game. He ended the night with 3 earned runs over 5 innings of work. He added 8 strikeouts. He was dealt a tough hand in his MLB debut against a potent New York Yankees offense. He fared pretty well. How will the star pitcher fare the next time he takes the mound?
Burns had a great pedigree before getting the call to the big leagues from the Cincinnati Reds. He was the No. 11 prospect in baseball entering the 2025 regular season. He was drafted No. 2 overall in the 2024 MLB Draft. Burns started the year in High-A before heading to AA, and eventually AAA.
The next scheduled start for Burns is on June 30 on the road against the Boston Red Sox. He will look to build upon a solid debut against another AL East franchise. He will look to be a big piece of Cincinnati’s rotation for years to come.
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