Mets Falling Back Into Early Season Slump, Draw Reds' Chase Burns Amid Skid

The New York Mets are reverting back to its early season woes after finding its stride in the first half of May, having lost six of its last seven games including a sweep at the hands of the division-rival Miami Marlins over the weekend.

The Mets dropped its series opener against the Cincinnati Reds 7-2 on Memorial Day with its rookie ace right-hander Nolan McLean on the mound, and it was all Reds from the jump. Cincinnati tacked on two in the second, one in the third and four in the fourth to take a commanding 7-0 lead before the Mets scored for the first time in the sixth.

McLean’s day was done after 3.1 innings, and he surrendered all seven runs on five hits and two walks despite striking out six. He gave up home runs to JJ Bleday and Tyler Stephenson, and it was his second consecutive clunker, raising his ERA to 4.40 on the season.

Reds lefty Nick Lodolo picked up his first win of the year after throwing six dominant one-run innings on six hits with seven punchouts. The Mets scored on a Marcus Semien solo blast in the sixth and an RBI groundout off the bat of Carson Benge in the seventh, but it wasn’t close to being enough.

When the team is struggling to produce offensively, lucking into a matchup against a pitcher that is also struggling is just what the team needs to get back on track. Unfortunately for the Mets, the Reds will be pitching right-hander Chase Burns, who has been practically unhittable this season.

After having trouble finding his footing in 13 games (eight starts) a season ago, the 23-year-old has been dealing in 2026. Burns is 6-1 with a 1.83 ERA (fifth), 0.95 WHIP (fifth) and 64 strikeouts (tied-20th) through 10 starts (59 innings).

Burns last worked against the Philadelphia Phillies and pitched six excellent innings of one-run ball on three hits with nine strikeouts to earn his sixth win of the season. He will face the following Mets lineup:

1. Benge (RF)

2. Bo Bichette (SS)

3. Juan Soto (DH)

4. A.J. Ewing (CF)

5. Jared Young (1B)

6. Brett Baty (3B)

7. Semien (2B)

8. MJ Melendez (LF)

9. Luis Torrens (C)

The Mets will start left-hander David Peterson, who has pitched well in his last four outings. His overall numbers aren’t great – 3-4 record with a 5.03 ERA, 1.55 WHIP and 49 strikeouts – but he has a 2.89 ERA since May 4 (18 innings, one start).

He last worked against the Washington Nationals and pitched five innings of one-run ball on four hits and three walks while fanning three. Cincinnati’s lineup hasn’t been reported at the time of writing.

First pitch is at 7:10 p.m. EDT on MLB.TV and regional sports networks.