Reds' Chase Petty finds pain and peace in first start of 2026

CHICAGO — About three hours before he was scheduled to take the mound in his first big-league start of the year, Cincinnati Reds right-hander Chase Petty walked down the 49 steps from the visitors clubhouse, took a left before walking the length of the batting cage, a right toward the dugout and then up another set of steps to the dugout at Wrigley Field. Petty, 23, was going to make his third career big-league start for a team that needed everything he could give them to stop a three-game losing streak, and he was doing it in a place he’d always dreamed of playing.Advertisement