Chase Burns emerged from Wake Forest University with the reputation of being a legitimate ace, a guy who at dawn on the fifth day would ride in from the east at first light to rescue his team from the depths of hell.
A guy who, amid a horrid losing streak, could take the mound and fire 7.0 innings of scoreless ball, striking out 7 against a lone walk.
The problem for the Cincinnati Reds, though, is that Chase Burns already did that. That’s precisely what he gave them on May 3rd against the Pittsburgh
Pirates, yet this collapsing ball club still couldn’t find a way to turn that into a victory.
Now, Cincinnati sits slumped in an 8-game losing streak, fresh off being battered to the tune of 10-0 by the Houston Astros – at home – in the series opener on Friday night. Jose Trevino, a catcher, pitched once again, and both the offense and the bullpen looked as inept as could be.
The Reds now have a -40 run differential for the season. The New York Mets, who are so bad already that they are reportedly shopping ace Freddy Peralta on the trade market, have a -26 differential. The San Francisco Giants, who just dealt catcher Patrick Bailey to Cleveland for a draft pick and pitching prospect, sport one that’s only -39. No team, not a single one, in the American League has a run differential worse than -38.
The Reds have a collective 89 wRC+ offensively. That’s the fourth worst in baseball.
Cincinnati’s bullpen has a 5.40 xERA. That’s last in baseball by a wide margin, though their 5.07 FIP is only second worst.
The Reds own a 5.12 xERA from their starters, which is third worst (even with Burns having been excellent so far this season).
Overall, Cincinnati’s pitching staff has a 5.24 xERA that’s the worst in all of baseball. No other team has a mark so much as beginning with a ‘5.’
In Burns manager Terry Francona will trust again on Saturday as he starts in the second game of the series against Houston. Trust with Francona seems an apt thing to point out, as the skipper still refuses to tinker significantly with his batting order and will once again roll out TJ Friedl as the team’s leadoff man today.
Here’s how the club will line up altogether for Saturday’s 4:10 PM ET start:
