Cincinnati Reds at Texas Rangers

Until Sunday afternoon, Chase Burns hadn't pitched into the seventh inning for the Reds. With how well Burns was working against the Rangers over his first six scoreless innings -- plus a shorthanded bullpen -- manager Terry Francona didn't mind pushing his 23-year-old right-hander. This time, it didn't work. Burns gave up a wind-aided, game-tying solo home run to Joc Pederson to lead off the seventh. But Cincinnati still emerged with a 2-1 win over Texas and secured a three-game series sweep at Globe Life Field. Elly De La Cruz's RBI single scored Matt McLain from second base for the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth inning. “It’s like building confidence, Tito having trust in me to go out there to set the tone for that seventh inning. It didn’t work out, but I’m glad we came out on top," Burns said. Burns finished with one earned run and five hits over his six-plus innings with one walk and nine strikeouts. Over his two starts, he has a 0.82 ERA, which includes his five scoreless innings for his first Major League win on Monday vs. the Pirates. As the Reds try to navigate without injured pitchers Nick Lodolo and Hunter Greene in their rotation, they are 4-0 in games started by either Burns or Rhett Lowder. During his 2025 rookie season, Burns had triple-digit velocity, but lacked efficiency as pitch counts escalated quickly. Much like his previous start against Boston, he attacked with strikes and set up hitters. “Damn, he’s nasty. He made my life easy," said first baseman Sal Stewart, who made an alert throw to second base on Wyatt Langford's sixth-inning grounder for a fielder's choice. "He’s such a good person. I’m so happy to see him doing well. He’s going to have a long, long career. Man, was he really, really good, and it’s so fun to watch.” Burns threw a first-pitch strike to 18 of his 24 batters, but when he started hitters with his four-seam fastball, he was 11-for-14 on first-pitch strikes. “Every time you just want to go up there and fill up the zone. Get strike one and go from there after that," Burns said.