NEW YORK – Reds right-hander Chase Burns made his Major League debut on June 24 of last year against the Yankees at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. He shoved to start the game, striking out the first five hitters he faced. He ended up with a no decision as the Reds won the game, 5-4.

Almost a year later, Burns pitched at Yankee Stadium, a stadium he always wanted to pitch in because his hero, Derek Jeter, made his mark in that ballpark. How did it turn out? Burns  wasn’t shoving against New York like he was in ‘25. The Yankees made him work. They weren’t chasing out of the zone as much, but he did enough in a 4-1 victory on Sunday afternoon.

Chase Burns Is Going For Black Ace Status 

Burns won his team-leading ninth game of the season by allowing one run in five innings and striking out seven. The run was scored in the third inning when Ben Rice hit a monster home run over the right field-wall.

Burns is elite. He has allowed two runs-or-fewer in a Major League leading 14 starts this season.

If this game showed anything, it revealed that Burns didn’t need his swing and miss stuff to get out of trouble. In the first inning for example, New York had runners on first and second with one out, but he managed to get out of the inning when Spencer Jones flew out to left fielder JJ Bleday and Jazz Chisholm ended the threat by bouncing out to first baseman Sal Stewart.

Chase Burns Shows Grit 

Burns was out of the game after throwing 96 pitches.

“I was just battling today. The execution could have been better. I was a couple of pitches away from going six innings, but we battled as a team, “ Burns said. “I was trying to be too pretty, trying to get the corners a little too much. (The Yankees) are a great team. They battled really well.”

If one looks at statistics, Burns is All-Star worthy. He is first on the Reds in bWAR (3.9), strikeouts and innings pitched. Burns declined to answer whether he belonged on the All-Star team. But teammate Tyler Stevenson said Burns should be pitching at Citizens Bank Park in July.

“The numbers speak for themselves. He has been the horse of this team all year,” said Stephenson, who helped Burns win Sunday’s game by hitting a three-run homer.

“He loves the moment. He moves the energy. He competes his balls off. He has high standards for himself. It’s behind the scenes – taking care of himself, going out there and being able to compete and pitch every five days. He is a joy. He is a lot of fun.”