Reds look to sweep Rangers with Chase Burns on the mound
Can the Reds pick up a sweep in their first road series of 2026?
CINCINNATI, OHIO - MARCH 30: Pitcher Chase Burns #26 of the Cincinnati Reds speaks with catcher Tyler Stephenson #37 at the pitcher's mound during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Great American Ball Park on March 30, 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Jeff Dean/Getty Images) | Getty Images The Cincinnati Reds powered their way to victory on Friday in the series opener against the Texas Rangers, with 2-run blasts by Spencer Steer and Tyler Stephenson fueling the 5-3 victory. On Saturday, it was starting pitcher Rhett Lowder’s excellence paired with some timely bucket brigade of singles that led to Cincinnati’s 2-0 win.
On Sunday, it will be Chase Burns with the chance to put his stamp on the first road series of the season for the Reds as they look to sweep aside the Rangers and move three games over the . 500 mark. Burns was his electric self again in his first start of the season, fanning 7 in 5.
0 IP while allowing nary a run and a lone hit in a 2-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, showing zero ill-effects from his bullpen role down the stretch in 2025 and his somewhat odd ‘de-load’ late in spring camp. Standing in Cincinnati’s way will be another former #2 overall pick in Texas Rangers starter Jack Leiter. Leiter, whose path to big league success hasn’t been quite as rocket-like as Burns, settled in as a solid mid-rotation contributor for the 2025 Rangers, but the stuff has always been there for him to lead a rotation.
Still just 25 years old (for a few more days), he looked the part of an ace in his first start of the season, and the Reds will have their work cut out for them today against the righty. It’s something of an interesting matchup today given yesterday’s between Rhett Lowder and Kumar Rocker. Lowder and Burns, of course, were both aces that came out of Wake Forest’s elite pitching development program, while both Rocker and Leiter came out of a Vanderbilt system that current Reds pitching coordinator Derek Johnson set in motion himself.