Chase Burns struck out seven over five innings and the Cincinnati Reds beat the New York Yankees 4-1 at Yankee Stadium, giving the rookie right-hander another proof point almost a year after his major league debut against the same opponent.
MLB.com reported that Burns threw 96 pitches, 64 for strikes, while allowing five hits, three walks and one run. The only damage came on Ben Rice's solo homer in the third inning.
Burns Grinds Through Five Innings
Burns did not dominate with pure fastball swing-and-miss this time. MLB.com noted that his fastball produced only two whiffs on 20 Yankees swings, but he still finished with seven strikeouts and leaned on his slider for five of them.
The outing came close to the anniversary of Burns' June 24, 2025 debut, when he struck out each of his first five Yankees hitters in Cincinnati. This version was less showy and probably more useful for the Reds, because it came in a tighter road game against a lineup that made him work.
After Rice's homer, Burns gave up only an infield single to Cody Bellinger later in the third and a leadoff single by Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the fourth. That was enough for Cincinnati to keep the game in range until the lineup broke through.
Stephenson Swing Gives Cincinnati The Lead
The Reds answered in the fourth. Noelvi Marte extended the inning with a two-out single against Yankees prospect Elmer Rodriguez, and Tyler Stephenson followed by driving a 3-1 fastball into the visitors' bullpen for a three-run homer.
Marte added an RBI ground-rule double in the ninth, giving Cincinnati the insurance run that closed the scoring. The Reds took two of three from the Yankees, won a second straight series and moved to 37-39.
Burns improved to 9-1 with a 2.00 ERA through 15 starts. MLB.com also listed him at 6-0 with a 1.57 ERA over his past nine starts, useful context for why his All-Star case keeps getting louder even when the start requires more labor than flash.
Cincinnati's roster context matters too. The report said shortstop Elly De La Cruz and reliever Pierce Johnson are expected back from the injured list during the next series, with the Reds moving into six games against the National League Central-leading Brewers across their next nine.