(Photo credit: Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

Two teams coming off impressive weekend series meet when the Colorado Rockies visit the Cincinnati Reds in the opener of a three-game series Tuesday night.

The Reds have been one of the better stories in the National League to open the season. They've won all 11 of their games decided by two runs or less in racing to the top of the NL Central. Cincinnati dropped an 8-3 decision to the Detroit Tigers Sunday but still took two of three in the series and have won nine of 12 heading into the series with the Rockies.

Colorado is coming off a road sweep of the New York Mets, in which they allowed just four runs in the three-game set, capped by a Sunday doubleheader of 3-1 and 3-0 victories. Colorado has already won 13 games before the month of May after winning just 43 in all of 2025.

The series opener features a compelling contrast on the mound. The Reds will hand the ball to right-hander Chase Burns (2-1, 2.57 ERA), who has emerged as a cornerstone of their young rotation. Burns has been dominant early this season, recording 30 strikeouts in his first five starts and allowing two or fewer runs in four of those outings.

Colorado counters with veteran right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano (2-1, 3.42 ERA). Sugano has been a stabilizing force for a Rockies rotation that has struggled with depth, providing the experienced veteran presence the team was looking for heading into the season.

The Reds' offense continues to be sparked by Elly De La Cruz, whose combination of speed and power remains a nightmare for opposing pitchers. Complementing him is third baseman Sal Stewart, who leads the team with a .291 batting average and a .385 on-base percentage.

Cincinnati had 10 home runs in the just-completed series against Detroit and has 37 homers on the season. The Cincinnati bullpen has been very reliable, though it was rocked for six runs in four innings of Sunday's loss to the Tigers. Detroit scored four in the seventh and two more in the eighth after starter Rhett Lowder left with a 3-2 lead after five innings.

'Early on our guys were fine,' Reds manager Terry Francona said. 'It went (bad) from there. I know it's early. No matter what time of year it is, that's a hard way to win.'

Francona has had to lean on his bullpen in the first month of the season as the rotation has dealt with inconsistency from Andrew Abbott and injuries that have sidelined Nick Lodolo and Hunter Greene.

Colorado outfielder Troy Johnston leads the club with a .315 average and a .371 OBP. As for the pitching, despite posting the second-most relief innings in MLB early on, the Rockies have maintained high efficiency. A shift in philosophy under new pitching coaches has improved the performance of young arms like Jaden Hill.

Five pitchers have at least one save for the Rockies, with veteran Antonio Senzatela and Victor Vodnik combining for six saves in their eight chances.

'There are 15, 16 or 17 guys who will ultimately take on a lot of the innings here,' Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said of the bullpen. 'The talent base of the pitching is there... the guys have to keep progressing.'

--Field Level Media