Reds dominate on both sides of the plate in lopsided win over Mets

Burns' rookie season did not go the way he expected, with a 4.57 ERA and an elbow strain in late August, but he continues to defy the odds as an NL Cy Young candidate in his first full MLB season. 

Burns is just the third player in franchise history with an ERA below 2.20, 95 or more strikeouts and 40 or fewer walks in his first 14 starts of the season, joining Mario Soto (1983) and Johnny Cueto (2014), per Just Baseball.

Burns has never gone past seven innings in any of his starts, but he continues to be in command each time he takes to the mound. With starting pitchers Hunter Greene (right elbow) and Brandon Williamson (left shoulder) battling injuries, Burns has been flawless for a Reds team that has dealt with its share of injuries throughout the first half of the season.

Suarez was just as impressive at the plate with a pair of homers, beginning with this 376-foot shot to left center field to put the Reds up 3-0 in the first.

He did not stop there, punctuating his first career six-RBI game with a 406-foot grand slam in the second to extend Cincinnati's lead to 9-0.

Suarez joins teammate Sal Stewart (April 15) and Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros (June 12) as players who have recorded at least six RBI via home runs before the conclusion of the second inning this season. According to OptaSTATS, that marks the first time three different players have done so in a single season.

Burns continues to deliver on the mound in the Reds' fifth shutout of the season, while Suarez picked up his ninth career grand slam and 24th multi-homer game. It was by far his best game since returning to the Reds for the first time since the 2021 season.

The Reds (34-37) still find themselves last in the NL Central, 10 games back of the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers (43-26). That is far from where Cincinnati was at the start of May when it led the division, but this is still a team that has the talent on the mound and at the plate to make some noise when fully healthy.

Getting shortstop Elly De La Cruz (right hamstring strain) back will be crucial over the summer months, as will some improved play against stiffer competition if the Reds are going to vault themselves back into serious contention. 

They still have some work to do, but Monday's shutout offered some encouragement, with the bats offering plenty of run support for Burns' gem.