Cincinnati Reds pitcher Chase Burns (26) throws a pitch in the third inning of the MLB interleague game between the Cincinnati Reds and the New York Yankees at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. / Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Former Vol Chase Burns started for the Reds and made his Major League Baseball debut. He pitched five innings and recorded eight strikeouts against the Yankees. Burns totaled 81 pitches, including 53 strikes, against 21 batters. He struck out five consecutive batters to start the game and totaled six strikeouts against the first seven batters.

As you can see from Alex Chamberlain’s Pitch Leaderboard above, Soroka has begun to dial back on his four-seam usage and started to lean into his sinker more than at the start of the season. He has also totally abandoned his modestly used slider and just turned that usage (and more) to his solid curveball. So, should this work?