The Cincinnati Reds have Chase Burns and the rest of baseball does not
Burns led the Reds past the Phillies 4-1 on Tuesday.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - MAY 19: Chase Burns #26 of the Cincinnati Reds reacts in the sixth inning during a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on May 19, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) | Getty Images There has been ample to lament about the Cincinnati Reds of late. They endured that brutal 8-game losing streak, one that featured record walk rates, bullpen meltdowns, and even a trio of consecutive walk-off defeats.
They came back up for air briefly, but rode into Tuesday evening’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies once again on a 3-game skid, one that would put them officially under the . 500 mark for the season if it continued. The bullpen is a disaster.
The starting rotation is in tatters. Leadoff man TJ Friedl has been effectively benched during his struggles, and 3B of the present (and future, per his contract) Ke’Bryan Hayes has basically been peak Homer Bailey in the batter’s box all season. What the Cincinnati Reds do have, though, is Chase Burns, and nobody else does.
And when Burns gets the ball, it’s an automatic that something brilliant is going to happen for the Reds regardless of the rest of their struggles. Burns took the ball in Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday and breezed through the Phillies, firing 6. 0 IP of 3 H, ER, 0 BB ball on 86 pitches.