The Giants wasted no time putting Chase Burns on the ropes Monday night, and once San Francisco jumped ahead early, Cincinnati never found a way back in.
By the time the fourth inning ended, Burns had already absorbed nine hits and five runs, and the Reds were staring at a 5-0 hole they couldn’t climb out of. San Francisco’s pitching took it from there, shutting Cincinnati down the rest of the way in a win to open the three-game set at home.
The first inning set the tone. Cincinnati went down in order, while the Giants came out swinging with a double, single, single and another double.
That sequence brought home two runs, and it might have produced more if not for JJ Bleday and Matt McLain teaming up to throw out what would have been an additional run at the plate on the second double. Burns escaped the frame by striking out the next two hitters.
But the Giants weren’t done with him. In the second, they strung together a two-out rally with a single and a double to put two runners aboard for Rafael Devers, who hammered a 427-foot, three-run home run to stretch the lead to 5-0.
Cincinnati had a chance to answer in the third. Ivan Johnson drew a walk with one out, then Elly De La Cruz singled to put two on.
After a flyout, Giants starter Carson Whisenhunt threw a ball to Dane Myers on the first pitch of the at-bat and immediately winced in pain. Whisenhunt left with what was later described as left elbow soreness, and Jason Foley came out of the bullpen to strike out Myers and keep the Reds off the board.
Burns ran into more trouble in the fourth when he allowed a leadoff triple. A single that hit off his foot somehow left the runner anchored at third, even though nobody tracked down the ball until long after the batter had reached first.
A grounder to a drawn-in infield then produced a double play, preserving the runner at third before the inning ended and Burns’ night was finished. Sam Moll took over and got Devers to ground out.
From there, the Reds’ offense went quiet for long stretches. They didn’t threaten again until the sixth, when Sal Stewart and Tyler Stephenson opened the inning with singles, only for the rally to fizzle without a run.
Cincinnati’s last real push came in the ninth, when Stephenson walked with one out and Eugenio Suarez followed with a single. Even then, the Giants shut the door, getting a flyout and a pop up to finish off the 5-0 victory.
The San Francisco bullpen was a major reason the lead held. The group combined for 6.1 innings of three-hit, shutout relief and allowed just one walk.
Stephenson was the only Reds hitter with multiple hits, going 2-for-3 with a walk.
Burns’ line also stood out for an unfortunate reason. He has now allowed more than two earned runs in five of his 25 starts this season, and four of those outings have seen him give up exactly five earned runs - including Monday night, the fourth time it has happened. The nine hits he surrendered matched a career high, though the other time that happened he worked 6.0 innings.
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