BOSTON (AP) — Cincinnati Reds phenom Chase Burns went from a memorable major league debut to a miserable second start against the Boston Red Sox on Monday night.
After becoming the first starting pitcher in the expansion era to strike out the first five big league hitters he faced Tuesday against the New York Yankees, the 22-year-old righty was tagged for seven runs, five earned, and got only one out as the Red Sox beat the Reds 13-6.
Trevor Story hit a three-run homer in the first inning as Boston collected five hits and had two walks against the righty.
“I hope it doesn’t get in the way of his next start,” Reds manager Terry 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.”
Burns, selected second overall by the Reds in July’s amateur draft, walked the leadoff batter, Jarren Duran, on a 99.9 mph fastball.
“Just trying to flush it and go back to the drawing board, see what works and what didn’t work and go from there,” Burns said.
Francona was asked if he may have been tipping his pitches.
“That’s something that you always probably need to check,” he said. “He threw some pitches that caught a lot of the plate and they were definitely looking (fastball) and those are always things we try to check for.”
Francona went on to say that one of his former players — Red Sox manager Alex Cora — is good at picking things up.
“Cora is one of the best at that,’’ he said. “They were certainly ready, they were coming out hacking and they were squaring it up pretty good.”
Burns didn’t know if that could have been part of his problem despite throwing a fastball near 100 mph with a hard slider in the upper 80s.
“I don’t know. They put a lot of good swings on a lot of good pitches, a lot of mistakes out there,” he said. “Couldn’t really tell you.”
His defense also let him down when Roman Anthony hit a grounder that second baseman Matt McLain threw into short left field, attempting to get a force.
Abraham Toro lined a single to left for the first run and Carlos Narváez followed by hitting the next pitch for an RBI double off the Green Monster. After a ground out, Story belted a 1-1 slider into the center-field bleachers, making it 5-0.
Story took some extra BP on the field about 3 ½ hours before the game, hitting fastballs. It may have been part of Boston’s plan.
“He’s got electric stuff,” he said. “I think we as an offense, we had a really good plan, and we were very convicted. We practiced the execution all day, and the execution really came out today during the game.”
David Hamilton added an RBI single and Francona lifted Burns after his second walk.
Anthony added an RBI single against Brent Suter, completing Burns’ pitching line.
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Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona, left, pulls pitcher Chase Burns (26) during the first inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, Monday, June 30, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Cincinnati Reds pitcher Chase Burns heads to the dugout after being pulled during the first inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, Monday, June 30, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
ADEN, Yemen (AP) — Saudi warplanes have reportedly struck on Friday forces in southern Yemen backed by the United Arab Emirates, a separatist leader says.
This comes as a Saudi-led operation attempts to take over camps of the Southern Transitional Council, or STC, in the governorate of Haramout that borders Saudi Arabia.
Tensions between Saudi Arabia and the UAE rose after the STC moved last month into Yemen’s governorates of Hadramout and Mahra and seized an oil-rich region. The move pushed out forces affiliated with the Saudi-backed National Shield Forces, a group aligned with the coalition in fighting the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.
Meanwhile, the Saudi ambassador to Yemen accused the head of the STC of blocking a Saudi mediation delegation from landing in the southern city of Aden.
The STC deputy and former Hamdrmout governor, Ahmed bin Breik, said in a statement that the Saudi-backed National Shield Forces advanced toward the camps, but the separatists refused to withdraw, apparently leading to the airstrikes.
Mohamed al-Nakib, spokesperson for the STC-backed Southern Shield Forces, also known as Dera Al-Janoub, said Saudi airstrikes caused fatalities, without providing details. The Associated Press couldn’t independently verify that claim.
Al-Nakib also accused Saudi Arabia in a video on X of using “Muslim Brotherhood and al-Qaeda militias” in a "large-scale attack " early Friday that he claimed sepratists were able to repel.
He likened the latest developments to Yemen’s 1994 civil war, “except that this time it is under the cover of Saudi aviation operations.”
Salem al-Khanbashi, the governor of Hadramout who was chosen Friday by Yemen's internationally recognized government to command the Saudi-led forces in the governorate, refuted STC claims, calling them “ridiculous” and showing intentions of escalation instead of a peaceful handover, according Okaz newspaper, which is aligned with the Saudi government.
Earlier on Friday, al-khanbashi called the current operation of retrieving seized areas “peaceful.”
“This operation is not a declaration of war and does not seek escalation,” al-Khanbashi said in a speech aired on state media. “This is a responsible pre-emptive measure to remove weapons and prevent chaos and the camps from being used to undermine the security in Hadramout,” he added.
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen demands the withdrawal of STC forces from the two governorates as part of de-escalation efforts. The STC has so far refused to hand over its weapons and camps.
The coalition's spokesperson Brig. Gen. Turki al-Maliki said Friday on X that Saudi-backed naval forces were deployed across the Arabian Sea to carry out inspections and combat smuggling.
In his post on X, the Saudi ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed al-Jaber, said the kingdom had tried “all efforts with STC” for weeks "to stop the escalation" and to urge the separatists to leave Hadramout and Mahra, only to be faced with “continued intransigence and rejection from Aidarous al-Zubaidi," the STC head.
Al-Jaber said the latest development was not permitting the Saudi delegation's jet to land in Aden, despite having agreed on its arrival with some STC leaders to find a solution that serves “everyone and the public interest.”
Yemen’s transport ministry, aligned with STC, said Saudi Arabia imposed on Thursday requirements mandating that flights to and from Aden International Airport undergo inspection in Jeddah. The ministry expressed “shock” and denounced the decision. There was no confirmation from Saudi authorities.
ِA spokesperson with the transport ministry told the AP late Thursday that all flights from and to the UAE were suspended until Saudi Arabia reverses these reported measures.
Yemen has been engulfed in a civil war for more than a decade, with the Houthis controlling much of the northern regions, while a Saudi-UAE-backed coalition supports the internationally recognized government in the south. However, the UAE also helps the southern separatists who call for South Yemen to secede once again from Yemen. Those aligned with the council have increasingly flown the flag of South Yemen, which was a separate country from 1967-1990.
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Associated Press writers Bassem Mroue in Beirut and Fatma Khaled in Cairo contributed to this report.
Southern Yemen soldiers of Southern Transitional Council (STC) at a check point, in Aden, Yemen, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (AP Photo)
