Fearless second overall pick Chase Burns made history by striking out three times in his first five at-bats in the major leagues.

Chase Burns, who grew up in Tennessee, admired the Yankees as a child and fantasized about wearing their pinstripes. However, on Wednesday morning Beijing time (Tuesday night in Cincinnati), the 22-year-old Burns made his major league debut against the New York Yankees in a Cincinnati Reds uniform at Great American Ball Park.

In his five innings, he surrendered three runs, gave up six hits, walked no one, and struck out eight, using 81 pitches (53 strikes). When he left the game, the team was trailing 0-3, but ultimately the Reds won with a walk-off hit from pinch-hitter Gavin Lux in the bottom of the 11th, bringing home Elly De La Cruz for a 5-4 victory, winning the first two games of the three-game series.

Although it didn't affect the outcome, his start was impressive: the Reds' top rookie (ranked 11th in MLB's top 100) struck out the Yankees' heart of the lineup in the first inning—Trent Grisham, Ben Rice, and reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge were all dispatched in succession.

This was accomplished with only 14 pitches (9 strikes). Against Judge, who had a batting average of .367 and 28 home runs, Burns threw three strikes after starting with a ball: a 99.3 mph fastball, followed by a 92.2 mph slider, and a 91.1 mph slider that caused him to swing and miss.

As the second overall pick in the 2024 draft, Burns became the second Reds pitcher since the live-ball era (starting in 1920) to strike out every batter he faced in the first inning of his major league debut (the last was Mo Sanford on August 9, 1991).

In the second inning, he continued by striking out Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt, but Jazz Chisholm Jr. broke the strikeout streak with a hit to right field. However, Burns responded by striking out Anthony Volpe—six strikeouts in his first seven at-bats.

According to Elias Sports Bureau, Burns became the first starting pitcher in the expansion era (since 1961) to strike out all three batters he faced in his first five at-bats in the major leagues.

After striking out Grisham in the third inning, the Yankees broke through in the fourth: Rice hit a slider for a home run to right field, and Judge followed with a hit to center field. With two outs, Chisholm hit a single to right field, and Volpe's line drive to center field resulted in a failed catch by TJ Friedl, allowing two runs to score on a triple.