Chase Burns quiets Pirates, picks up first career win for Reds
Chase Burns tossed five scoreless innings for the Reds against the Pirates, who didn't record their first hit until the fifth inning.
The national baseball community didn't quite get the opportunity to shift into full blown no-hitter watch, but Chase Burns kept a no-hitter alive for most of his 2026 debut for the Cincinnati Reds . Burns allowed three walks and a lone single while striking out seven over five scoreless innings on March 30 against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Great American Ball Park. By night's end, he collected his first career big-league win.
More: Sal Stewart joined another elite group in first Reds game vs. Pirates Pittsburgh's Spencer Horwitz finally broke up the no-hitter threat when he led off the fifth with a single to right field. Burns still got through the inning with his shutout intact, but at 78 pitches his night would end.
Range-of-motion issues and a mid-spring training scale-down of Burns' workload was expected to keep his pitch count lower earlier in the season. Jose Franco, a late addition to Cincinnati's Opening Day roster , came on for his Major League debut and lasted 1 and 2/3 innings. Graham Ashcraft logged the final out of the seventh inning, and then three more outs in the eighth.
Connor Phillips locked up his first save of 2026 to preserve Burns' victory. In 2025, Burns appeared in 14 games, making nine starts. He posted an 0-3 record after debuting June 24 against the New York Yankees.