Reds capitalize on mistakes, Chase Burns' strong outing to snap 8-game losing streak

AL EastBlue JaysOriolesRaysRed SoxYankeesAL CentralGuardiansRoyalsTigersTwinsWhite SoxAL WestAngelsAstrosAthleticsMarinersRangersNL EastBravesMarlinsMetsNationalsPhilliesNL CentralBrewersCardinalsCubsPiratesRedsNL WestDiamondbacksDodgersGiantsPadresRockiesScores & ScheduleStandingsPodcastsThe Windup NewsletterFantasyMLB ProspectsMLB OddsMLB PicksPower RankingsFans Speak UpMLB Season Chase Burns went six innings Saturday, allowing one run on four hits with three walks. Dylan Buell / Getty Images Share articleCINCINNATI — It was the type of inning the Cincinnati Reds have gotten all too familiar with in May: a walk, a costly error and then another. But in the fifth inning of Saturday’s game against the Houston Astros, the Reds were on the other side of the self-destruction. They scored three runs in the inning and went on to beat the Astros 3-1, snapping an eight-game losing streak. “It’s a good feeling; it’s a real good feeling,” Reds manager Terry Francona said. “I’m happy for those guys out there. It’s been a tough week. But they’re working and they’re competing. It’s not always been as good as we want, but they’re not quitting, so we’re not going to quit on them.” For the first 4 1/3 innings, Saturday’s game followed the recent script: not much offense and a deficit. Reds starter Chase Burns pitched well enough to keep the Astros at bay until Braden Shewmake’s solo homer with two outs in the top of the fifth, a blow for a team that hadn’t won a baseball game in May despite playing eight of them. The Astros’ past week might have been worse than the Reds’ in every way but their record, but their point of optimism was right-hander Spencer Arrighetti, who came into the game 4-0 with a 1.96 ERA. Arrighetti didn’t allow a base runner until the third inning and didn’t give up a hit until the fourth. Entering the fifth, he’d faced just one batter over the minimum and began the inning with a strikeout of DH Nathaniel Lowe. Spencer Steer then lined a single to left and became the first Red to step on second base when he stole the bag against catcher Christian Vázquez, who had thrown out Elly De La Cruz on a steal attempt to end the fourth. After a Will Benson walk, catcher Jose Trevino hit a fly ball to right field, deep enough into the corner that Steer could tag. But after a week of the Reds dropping the ball, literally and figuratively, it was the opponent — right fielder Cam Smith — who made just a simple mistake. The ball bounced off Smith’s glove as he prepared to throw, but he recovered quickly enough to hold Steer at third. Then, with the bases loaded, second baseman Matt McLain, batting ninth for the third time this season after batting second for most of the first month, came through with a liner to left, scoring two and giving the Reds a lead. But that wasn’t it. Left fielder Zach Cole’s throw home bounced in front of the plate and over a sliding Will Benson, allowing two runners to move up. After a walk and a flyout that was too shallow to bring the runner home, De La Cruz singled in another run before McLain was thrown out at the plate by Cole on a perfect throw. Regardless, the Reds had not just a lead but a two-run lead. “Tough stretch right now, but I’m just going out and doing my job,” Burns said. “I gave up that homer, but then the team picked me up and then went out and did a shutdown inning, and that’s what happened. We’re just going to keep going from there.” The Reds’ pitching depth has been tested this spring, with their top two pitchers in the rotation starting the season on the injured list. Right-hander Hunter Greene, who was scheduled to start Opening Day, is out until July after surgery to remove bone spurs from his right elbow. Left-hander Nick Lodolo made his first start Friday after beginning the season on the IL with a blister on his left index finger. Lefty Brandon Williamson has already gone on the IL, and right-hander Rhett Lowder might join him there after leaving his Thursday start early with right shoulder discomfort, his second short start of the season. Veteran Brady Singer has been up and down in his results, leaving much on the shoulders of Burns, who entered the season without a win to his name. Burns hasn’t looked like a guy who hadn’t pitched a professional game before last season. Instead, he’s evolving at the big-league level from a pitcher with phenomenal pure stuff to a pitcher who can dominate in different ways. Through the first 15 starts of his career, Burns has averaged 12.3 strikeouts per nine innings and nearly seven strikeouts per outing. Saturday, he had two strikeouts, both of Smith, whom he played against in college and who was selected 12 spots after Burns in the 2024 MLB Draft. During the game, Burns said he was telling Trevino he wasn’t able to get his slider down, which is the pitch he uses most to get strikeouts. The veteran catcher told him something simple that stuck with him: “Hey, man, don’t get mad, because you’re getting outs.” Aside from Yordan Alvarez, who is one of the best hitters in baseball, Burns was getting outs. He went six innings, allowing one run on four hits with three walks. Alvarez walked twice and hit a leadoff double in the sixth. “I didn’t have the swing-and-miss stuff that I wanted, but I really just dialed in hitting spots. I think that was the biggest thing today,” Burns said. “Me and Trevy, the game plan was not to get beat by one guy and let them put the ball in play and get themselves out.” With Alvarez on second, Burns got a fly ball and a popup before striking out Smith for the second time. Brock Burke, Graham Ashcraft and finally Pierce Johnson each notched 1-2-3 innings, easing the mood as the Reds looked to end the losing streak. Johnson got the save, his first since last May when he was with the Atlanta Braves, and the Reds’ first since closer Emilio Pagán was injured in Chicago on Wednesday. “That’s my guy; he’s my best friend,” Johnson said. “We’ll hold that position down until he gets back.” Johnson, who was signed as a free agent this past offseason after Pagán’s re-signing, was in the right spot to help close things out, especially when the three balls put in play against him were hit to two of the team’s best defenders: center fielder Dane Myers and the first and last outs to Gold Glove third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes. “The year’s a roller coaster: You’re going to have highs; you’re going to have lows,” Johnson said. “We started the year off hot, and we went on some road trips where we won a lot of games, and we came home, and you split, you win a series and then you go on the road and have a rough one. Look, that’s going to happen. It’s a long season; that’s why we play 162. This group of guys is elite. It’s one of the best groups I’ve been a part of. There’s no panic. It was just baseball.” Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms