Elly De La Cruz singled home the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, and Brock Burke struck out the side in the ninth for his first career save as the Cincinnati Reds completed a three-game sweep of the Texas Rangers with a 2-1 victory on Sunday afternoon at Globe Life Field. The Reds improved to 6-3 on the season.
Burns Dominates
Chase Burns turned in the longest start of his career, throwing six innings of one-run ball with nine strikeouts. The right-hander averaged 98.7 mph on his fastball, topping out at 100.7 mph, and retired 12 of his last 13 batters after a shaky first inning. Joc Pederson's solo homer in the seventh was the only damage against Burns.
De La Cruz's Clutch Moment
With the game tied 1-1 in the eighth, Matt McLain walked and stole second against Rony Garcia. De La Cruz then lined an opposite-field single to right to drive in the go-ahead run. Earlier, Eugenio Suarez's single in the fourth had scored De La Cruz to give the Reds a 1-0 lead.
Burke's Revenge Game
With closer Emilio Pagan unavailable after recording saves in the first two games of the series, manager Terry Francona turned to Brock Burke for the ninth inning. Burke, acquired from Tampa Bay in the offseason Gavin Lux trade, responded by striking out the side against his former Rangers teammates — Kyle Higashioka, Sam Haggerty, and Josh Jung — to earn the first save of his career in his 210th relief appearance.
Texas had designated Burke for assignment in 2024 after he broke his hand. "You definitely always want to prove them a little bit wrong," Burke said after the game.
Road Dominance
The sweep improved the Reds to a perfect 4-0 on the road this season. They held the Rangers to just four runs across the entire three-game series and head to Miami carrying a three-game winning streak.
