(Photo credit: Frank Bowen IV/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

Two teams with expectations to rise in the National League Central in 2026 meet for the first time Monday night when the Pittsburgh Pirates visit the Cincinnati Reds in the opener of a three-game series.

Both teams are leaning on young right-handers as they navigate early-season rotation challenges.

One day after sending Rhett Lowder to the mound against Boston, the Reds will turn to another promising right-handed starter in Chase Burns in his 2026 debut.

Burns was moved up in the rotation after Nick Lodolo was sidelined with a finger blister and Hunter Greene was placed on the 60-day injured list recovering from right elbow surgery.

The 23-year-old Burns has a year of experience under his belt but is still searching for his first major league win. He went 0-3 with a 4.57 ERA in 13 appearances, including eight starts, in 2025. Burns spent last year jumping from Single-A ball to the majors and struggled with a flexor strain.

'I learned a lot (in 2025),' Burns said. 'The celebration is over about making it to the big leagues. I got to face some adversity. It's just up from there. I know what to expect.'

Burns, known for an upper-90s four-seam fastball and a devastating slider, has spent the offseason refining his secondary offerings.

'I thought he handled himself like a veteran,' Reds manager Terry Francona said. 'He had a lot coming at him last year.'

Pittsburgh counters with Braxton Ashcraft, called to step up as fellow right-hander Jared Jones is out until at least May due to elbow surgery. Ashcraft is looking to solidify his spot in a Pirates rotation that has become one of the most promising in baseball.

Ashcraft enters 2026 coming off his first fully healthy offseason after 2021 Tommy John surgery, non-throwing shoulder surgery in 2019 and knee meniscus surgery in 2020.

'I got the first healthy offseason maybe in my career,' said Ashcraft, who went 4-4 with a 2.71 ERA in 26 appearances, including eight starts, in 2025. 'I think that we've solidified ourselves across the board ... as one of the best rotations from top to bottom in the game.'

The Reds enter the series with early momentum after taking two of three from the visiting Boston Red Sox. Slugger Eugenio Suarez returned to Cincinnati in the offseason, signing a one-year, $15 million contract. On Sunday, the third baseman belted his first home run, a three-run shot in the sixth inning that rallied the host Reds past the Red Sox 3-2.

'I think that's a game that last year we lose a lot of times because we were kind of frustrated,' Francona said. '(On Sunday), we had some hits we didn't get, didn't bunch them together, but all of a sudden, they tried to sneak a fastball by him, and it completely changes the game. And that didn't happen a lot (in 2025). That's why we got Geno.'

Sunday's win came after the Reds won a 6-5, 11-inning thriller on Saturday.

The Pirates secured their first win Sunday, a 10-inning, 4-3 victory over the host New York Mets. While Pittsburgh's offense has shown flashes of power -- highlighted by Brandon Lowe's three home runs in the opening series -- its pitching staff is looking to stabilize after posting a 4.82 ERA across the first three games.

--Field Level Media