Sizzling club faces hot pitcher as Phillies oppose Reds' Chase Burns

Cincinnati right-hander Chase Burns, currently one of the best pitchers in the National League, faces a challenging foe on Tuesday when the Reds visit the surging Philadelphia Phillies.

Burns (5-1, 1.87 ERA) has allowed two runs or fewer in eight of his nine starts this season while logging at least five innings in every outing. The 23-year-old has been particularly dominant this month, yielding only one run in 19 innings.

Most recently, Burns gave up just two hits over six scoreless frames in a 15-1 rout of the Washington Nationals on Thursday.

"It's fun to watch a good young pitcher get better," Cincinnati manager Terry Francona said. "We're witnessing it right in front of our eyes, and it's fun to watch."

Burns is facing the Phillies for the second time in his career. He took the mound against them in Cincinnati last July and allowed one run over 4 2/3 innings.

This time around, Burns will have his work cut out for him, as Philadelphia is playing as well as any team in the majors. The Phillies are 16-4 under interim manager Don Mattingly and are coming off a dramatic victory on Monday in the series opener.

Bryson Stott provided the heroics with a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning as Philadelphia posted a 5-4 triumph, extending its winning streak to five games.

"It is nice when you're able to come from behind," Mattingly said. "It gives guys the feeling that you're always in it -- and that's really what you want, playing nine innings, 27 outs. You just keep playing."

Stott has five home runs this season -- all in May. He has gone deep in each of the past two contests.

"Stott continues to mash, obviously," Mattingly said.

Phillies rookie starter Andrew Painter allowed two runs over a career-best six innings before three relievers bridged the gap to Jhoan Duran, who slammed the door in the ninth inning for his eighth save.

Sal Stewart homered for Cincinnati, which fell to 2-5 in its past seven games. The Reds also have dropped 11 of their past 12 road affairs.

"We're in a good spot," Stewart said. "We haven't even played our best. Nowhere near it, and we're still in a good spot. That's just everything that needs to be said."

Reds starter Nick Lodolo gave up two runs in the first inning and wound up allowing three runs in 5 2/3 frames.

"That's a hard first inning to come back from," Francona said. "I give him a lot of credit 'cause they really pushed him that inning, he survived it and stayed out there and gave us a chance to win. That's saying a lot."

The Reds will try to break out of their funk when they face Phillies lefty Jesus Luzardo (3-3, 5.07 ERA), who is hoping to build off one of his best outings of 2026. He pitched six scoreless innings Thursday against the Boston Red Sox, although he still received a no-decision in an eventual 3-1 Philadelphia win.

Boston's runners on second base appeared to be signaling location to the Red Sox batters, but Luzardo didn't seem too concerned.

"Just trying to catch my attention," he said. "I don't think there was much to it."

--Field Level Media