Chase Burns has reached the point in his first full professional grind where the Reds are asking him to hold something back. Cincinnati beat the Cubs, 6-4, on Friday, but Burns again worked only three innings under the late-season plan designed to close out his 29th start without asking too much from a 23-year-old arm that has already carried a much heavier workload than it did a year ago.
Burns did not factor in the decision after allowing two runs on four hits and two walks, striking out four over 67 pitches. The line was uneven, but the larger picture remains strong: Burns is 15-3 with a 2.86 ERA and 185 strikeouts across 154 1/3 innings. He threw 109 1/3 innings between the Majors and Minors last season, and Cincinnati has mapped out the final weeks accordingly.
The Reds began limiting Burns to three innings at the end of August. He is expected to make one more start, likely Thursday against Atlanta, which would give him 30 starts for the season. Manager Terry Francona said Burns has been included in the discussions throughout the process and has handled the arrangement well.
“We knew he would be OK. He’s a solid kid,” Francona said. “We’ve talked to him a bunch about everything, and he’s been part of it all along.”
Francona’s concern is less about getting one more inning out of Burns this September than giving him a sensible foundation for next year. The club wanted him to reach this stage of the season while avoiding a workload jump that could create a larger problem down the road.
Over his three shortened outings, Burns has covered nine innings, permitted four runs and struck out 14. Both the pitcher and his manager believe his stuff has remained intact despite the length of the season. Burns said the challenge has been learning how to manage his body through the rhythm of pitching every five or six days.
“It’s definitely been a long season, lots of ups and downs, but I feel like I’ve gotten over the hump and I’ve been taking care of my body,” Burns said. “There’s been a lot of growth, just learning the body and maneuvering every five or six days. I feel great.”
The Cubs made Burns work in the second. After three straight one-out singles, Carson Kelly drove in Nico Hoerner. Burns then walked Dansby Swanson to fill the bases, but he escaped by striking out Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki with sliders. Ian Happ tied the game at 2 in the third, sending a 1-1 changeup to right field for a two-out solo homer.
With only three innings available, Burns admitted there is a temptation to pitch at maximum effort from the opening pitch and chase strikeouts. That approach can bring an edge, but it can also lead to trouble.
“It’s hard mentally when you only have three innings,” Burns said. “You want to go out there and bring everything you have, and sometimes that can go the wrong way.”
Cincinnati broke through in the sixth
The Reds took control with a four-run sixth inning against Cubs starter Clay Holmes. Elly De La Cruz opened the inning with a walk and quickly turned the inning into a problem for Chicago. Holmes made an errant pickoff throw at first, allowing De La Cruz to reach third. Two one-out walks followed, setting the table for Eugenio Suárez, who punched an RBI single into left.
Jose Trevino followed with a two-run single to right, putting Cincinnati in front. Trevino is now 4-for-4 with seven RBIs this season when batting with the bases loaded, a small but striking run of production from a catcher who welcomes the tight spots.
“You take the moment for what it is,” Trevino said. “If you succeed, great. If you don’t, that’s OK too—you learn from it. I’ve been in plenty of those situations in my career. I tend to gravitate toward them and like them. I don’t know why.”
The final out carried its own bit of Reds preparation. Emilio Pagán walked Michael Busch with one out in the ninth, then got two outs away from ending it. With Happ at the plate, Busch ran on a steal attempt and was ruled safe at second initially. Cincinnati asked for a crew-chief review, and the call was changed to out, ending the game.
Pagán earned his 24th save and has converted 18 straight opportunities since July 5. Trevino had signaled before the pitch that he wanted the closer to use a slide step, allowing him a better chance to cut down Busch.
“Trevi looked at me before the pitch and gave me the slide-step sign,” Pagán said. “I tried to get to the plate a little faster and give him something he could throw. What a throw from Trevi.”
The Reds had been alert for a possible steal from the first pitch of Happ’s plate appearance. Trevino waited until the third pitch to make his move, getting De La Cruz’s attention before relaying the plan to Pagán. Pagán delivered quickly, Trevino made the throw, and De La Cruz applied the tag that became the final play after review.
“Honestly, I thought they saw me,” Trevino said. “Maybe they thought I was joking. Once I got Elly’s attention, I told him I was going to do it, and he looked at me like, ‘What are you talking about?’ But I gave it to Pagán, he did a good job with the slide step and put the ball in a good place, and Elly made a good tag.”
