PHILADELPHIA — Chase Burns’ backside absorbed the brunt of a 108.8 mph — ouch! — scorching liner off the bat of Bryce Harper that nearly caught the Cincinnati Reds’ ace in a more precarious position.
Burns kept his poise, recovered the ball just off the mound, and flipped it to first to retire Harper and end the sixth inning.
Burns felt the, well, burn, and hightailed it to the clubhouse for treatment on a smash hit near the upper groin area that will leave nothing more than a bruise.
“I’ll tell you what,” Reds manager Terry Francona said, “that was scary. The way he ran off the mound, I thought he was OK. Then he got in the dugout, and it looked like he was dead. I asked him, please tell me you have a cup on. He said, no. I was like, Chase, I don’t even watch a game on TV without wearing a cup.”
Burns did at least protect the lead against the streaking Phillies.
The 23-year-old Burns, the second overall pick in the 2024 amateur draft, was terrific again in the latest start in his first full major league season.
Burns used a filthy slider to set up the 99 mph heaters upstairs and struck out nine over six innings. He lowered his ERA to 1.83 in the Reds 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.
Oh, and one assist on Harper’s comebacker.
“It hurt, for sure,” Burns said. “Just trying to get the out and come in as fast as possible. It’ll be good.”
Each time Burns walked to the mound, it was impossible to miss that oversized All-Star game logo that looms large in the Ashburn Alley concourse.
With the way he’s pitching this season, Burns’ next appearance in Philadelphia could come in the Midsummer Classic.
“It might be in the back of my mind somewhere,” Burns said.
Burns (6-1) allowed only Trea Turner’s solo shot in the third as he helped the Reds end a three-game losing streak and move back above .500 (25-24).
Burns allowed three hits, walked none and drew 18 swings and misses. The right-hander has allowed two or fewer runs in nine of 10 starts this season and one or fewer runs in seven of 10 starts.
He was at his best against the Phillies in the fourth and fifth innings. He got the first batters in the fourth on strikeouts and then struck out the side — Bryson Stott on a slider, Edmundo Sosa on a fastball and Justin Crawford on a nasty slider.
“Feels like if you miss that mistake, then the at-bat gets a lot tougher,” Turner said. “Great arm and seems to be a good competitor.”
His 121 strikeouts — on the strength of that slider — in his first 18 career starts rank third in Reds history (since 1900) behind Gary Nolan (134) and Nick Lodolo (126).
“It’s a pretty devasting pitch,” Francona said.
With a 4-1 lead, there was no sense in putting Burns back on the mound for the seventh.
“I mean, my goodness, the ball almost killed him,” Francona said.
Burns has turned into a bit of a stopper for the Reds. He is 3-0 with a 0.72 ERA and has three of the Reds’ five wins in May.
“There’s been some days where we we’ve kind been up against it and he’s given us what we needed,” Francona said.
Burns went 0-3 with a 4.57 ERA in eight starts over 13 appearances for the Reds last season.
“I’m just taking everything I learned from last year and putting it into this year,” Burns said. “Learning about routines and how to stay healthy during the week. Midweek bullpens and stuff like. Just executing pitches, really.”
Burns is the first Reds starter to throw at least six innings while allowing two runs or fewer in five straight games since Hunter Greene in 2024. The last Reds starter to do so before Burns age 23 or younger was Jay Tibbs in 1984.
“I think he’s special now,” Francona said. “What he grows into will be what he grows into.”
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