Chase Burns shows that he's human

BOSTON — Early in June, when Cincinnati Reds’ brass discussed reasons why Chase Burns wasn’t already in the big leagues, there were two main points.

There are subtle nuances of the game that pitchers can benefit from working on in the Minor Leagues.

And the Reds are keeping a close eye on his pitch count as a part of a plan to keep him available for the entire season.

Burns belongs in MLB. After Burns allowed seven runs (five earned) and took the loss on Monday against the Red Sox, Terry Francona reiterated, “This kid is going to be really good.”

But it’s never as easy as show up in the big leagues and dominate.

“It’s baseball,” Burns said. “It happens. It definitely (stinks) when it’s on a big stage.”

When asked if Burns was tipping pitches on Monday, Francona said that he didn’t know but that’s always something you’ve got to keep an eye out for. Burns said that the Red Sox put good swings on mistake pitches.

The numbers show that Burns only got one swing and miss all game. The Red Sox were aggressive, and they were ready. Francona also said that Red Sox manager Alex Cora is one of the best in the game at reading pitchers and identifying tendencies.

These are some subtle nuances.

There’s also the pitch count factor. Burns only threw 33 pitches, and it looked like Ceddanne Rafaela was going to be Burns’ last batter well before Rafaela completed his nine-pitch at-bat. The Reds can’t overextend Burns, and really long innings that creep toward 40 pitches are called the “danger zone.”

Francona pulled Burns with one out in the inning to prevent Burns from getting close to that. Burns only threw 81 pitches in his big league debut last week, and he wasn’t as sharp in the latter innings. On Monday, a more seasoned pitcher might have been able to face another batter or two to try to get out of the first inning, but you don’t do that with a rookie who has made 13 professional starts.

“Sometimes, there are some growing pains,” Francona said. “If you don’t think it’s going to happen, you’re probably not paying attention.”

Burns never struggled in the minor leagues. That’s not normal. Before his big league debut, Burns admitted to Derek Johnson that he felt a bit nervous. Johnson joked, “Good. You’re human.” Burns hadn’t shown any signs of that in pro ball until his start at Fenway Park.

Games like these are a typical part of the journey. Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Graham Ashcraft and Andrew Abbott all had similar short starts (albeit a bit longer than just the first inning) during their rookie seasons.

At this point last year, Rhett Lowder was in his first pro season and was going through some natural ups and downs in Double-A. In the second inning of Lowder’s second start in Double-A last season, he was tagged for six runs. Lowder learned from some subpar starts at that level, and he was pitching at a high level in the big leagues a few months later.

“I learned how to pitch when things aren’t going your way,” Lowder said last year. “It was a part of the plan. You don’t want to struggle. But it’s hard to learn when you’re doing well all the time. It gave me a lot to work on.”

Burns is just going through that experience in the big leagues.

“My hope is (Monday) doesn’t get in the way of his next start,” Francona said. “That’s tough. Tough on him. Tough on us. A lot of people were putting their arm around him. He’s a good kid. It’ll be real interesting to see his next start.”