It was not Kyle Schwarber who socked a backbreaking homer off the Cincinnati Reds on Monday night in Philadelphia. That honor went to Bryson Stott, who crushed Cincinnati’s dream of a come-from-behind victory with a 2-run shot off Graham Ashcraft in the Bottom of the 8th inning that turned a 4-3 Reds lead into a 5-4 Phillies victory.
Schwarber, though, will get more opportunities to keep sockin’ dingers on Tuesday against Reds pitching, with rising ace Chase Burns getting the start for Cincinnati in the second game of the series.
Burns enters play on Tuesday having been valued at 2.6 bWAR on the season already, a mark that’s fourth best in all of Major League Baseball and behind only Phillies star Cristopher Sanchez among players pitching in the senior circuit. Burns has been on a particularly brilliant role during the month of May, as he’s fired 19.0 IP across a trio of starts and yielded just a lone earned run in the process. He’s holding right-handed hitters to a ridiculous .124/.143/.169 (.311 OPS) so far this season, though lefties – like Schwarber! – own a much more robust .242/.348/.455 (.802) line against him with 5 of the 6 homers he’s yielded this year.
Lefty Jesus Luzardo will start for the Phillies, with first pitch set for 6:40 PM ET once again. With a southpaw on the mound, the Reds have tinkered with their lineup once again, with right-handed outfielders Blake Dunn and Dane Myers in the lineup. Matt McLain remains in the leadoff spot for a second straight day, and Sal Stewart will get a defensive break as the team’s DH for the night.
Here’s the full Reds lineup:
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