The Reds reached Petco Park on a four-game losing streak, and Monday’s game against the Padres put Chase Burns back in the spotlight. Cincinnati, 31-33 and fifth in the NL Central, was trying to keep its wild-card chase alive while Burns was listed as the probable starter in a matchup that could say a lot about where the team is headed next.
That is why Burns is the name drawing search traffic now. He tied a season high with nine strikeouts in his last start, worked six innings and allowed two runs on six hits, and has allowed two runs or fewer in each of his last nine starts. Over that stretch, the right-hander has posted a 1.67 ERA, giving the Reds a front-line answer even as the broader picture stays messy.
Cincinnati still sat 2 1/2 games out of a wild-card spot, and the gap in the division was wider at 9 1/2 games behind the Brewers. The Reds also carried a minus-51 run differential, tied for 28th, and a 29th-ranked bullpen ERA of 5.12, which helps explain why a strong night from Burns matters so much. A rotation that ranked 23rd in ERA at 4.60 has had to do the heavy lifting, and Burns has been the sharpest reason the club has not fallen farther back.
The rest of the lineup has not offered much help. Matt McLain has powered the early part of June with three home runs and a 1.412 OPS, and Spencer Steer has added a.939 OPS and two homers this month, but several others have been stuck in the mud. Sal Stewart entered with a.501 OPS in June, JJ Bleday at.454, Nathaniel Lowe at.321 and Eugenio Suarez at.311, a stretch that has made every scoreless inning feel even heavier.
San Diego has had its own problems. The Padres were 33-31, third in the NL West, but they had lost 11 of 13 and were only a half-game out of a wild-card spot. They were 17-18 at home, carried a minus-18 run differential and came in having hit just.172/.245/.274 through the first six games of June, with five home runs in that span. Freddy Fermin had two of those homers and a 1.182 OPS, while Jackson Merrill, Gavin Sheets and Manny Machado were all below.500 OPS for the month.
That makes the matchup less about the standings than the one thing each side badly needs: a clean start. The Reds won four of six against San Diego last year, but this trip is happening while Cincinnati is trying to break a skid and the Padres are trying to stop their own slide before the race tightens further. Burns has not faced San Diego before, and with Elly De La Cruz not expected back from a hamstring strain until later in the month and Ke'Bryan Hayes still sidelined by a back issue, the Reds may again have to lean on pitching to carry the day.
If Burns repeats even part of what he has done over his last nine starts, Cincinnati gives itself a real chance to stop the bleeding. If not, the Reds’ fragile hold on the wild-card picture could slip a little farther before the week is out.
