Story by
Terry Francona Comments On Rare Chase Burns Loss
- Story by
- Terry Francona Comments On Rare Chase Burns Loss
Terry Francona Comments On Rare Chase Burns Loss
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
Chase Burns toed the rubber for the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday against the Washington Nationals, hoping to earn his 14th win of the season.
Regardless, the Nationals had other plans.
Burns kept the Nationals' bats at bay through the first two innings until Abimelec Ortiz struck in the third with an RBI single to bring in José Tena and CJ Abrams for a 2-0 lead over the Reds.
Advertisement
Eugenio Suárez countered in the sixth with a two-run homer to left center, tying the game at 2-2 but it was not enough when Washington's offense stormed right back for four runs that same inning.
Following the matchup, Reds manager Terry Francona acknowledged Burns' fastball not being at its best.
"He got beat on a couple of fastballs tonight," Francona said, according to MLB.com. "I don't ever want to say he should've thrown a breaking ball. That's too easy and it's not fair."
Daylen Lile would ignite the frenzy with an RBI single, driving in Dylan Crews. Nasim Nuñez then drew a walk, leading to Francona making a call to the bullpen for reliever Sam Moll.
Advertisement
Even with Burns removed from the game, Washington was not done yet as Lile scored off an RBI double by Andrés Chaparro which also brought in Keibert Ruiz.
Chaparro reached home as well off an RBI single by Jacob Young, putting the Nationals ahead 6-2 while Chaparro and Abrams sealed the Reds' fate with a pair of RBI singles in the eighth.
"The hope is [to] have a nice good inning, get him [Burns] through six – tie game – go to our bullpen," Francona said. "It ended up being a long inning and he couldn't get through it. And I got uncomfortable. That's my biggest concern with him right now. At the end of his outing, trying to reach back for more when he's nearing 100 [pitches]. That, to me, is where it starts to get a little iffy."
Despite the disappointing outing, Burns still leads the Reds' starting rotation with a 2.61 ERA and 1.12 WHIP while striking out 143 batters in 124 innings pitched.
Advertisement
However, the Reds have gone 56-61 overall and are six games out of the final NL Wild Card spot, which will be a steep hill to climb with the regular season ending in late September.
To make matters worse, fellow starter Hunter Greene is set to undergo season-ending elbow surgery , meaning that Cincinnati will have to lean on Burns more than ever to stay afloat in a season where they have also ranked fifth in the NL Central.
Furthermore, injuries have been an overall theme for the Reds' pitching staff this season with left-hander Nick Lodolo getting ready to make his return on Tuesday after being sidelined with a left index finger blister that he's battled throughout his career.
In the meantime, Burns will turn his attention to making the most out of his seven-year, $105 million contract extension during his next turn in the rotation.
That may come at some point in the team's series next week against the Miami Marlins back at Great American Ball Park.
