Reds’ Matt McLain making an instant impact on offense and defense

CINCINNATI — The card Cincinnati Reds players carry told third baseman Santiago Espinal to play Wilmer Flores straight up with a runner on first and one out in the sixth inning Saturday, but shortstop Elly De La Cruz had a feeling Flores, who had already homered in each of the first two games of the season, was looking to pull a ball down the line with a runner on first and the Reds holding a one-run lead.

“I’m playing a little bit over here,” De La Cruz told Espinal, signaling to his right.

Espinal knew what the card said, but the shortstop’s intuition superseded the card.

Sure enough, the ball went to De La Cruz’s right.

“If I was playing straight, I could’ve gotten to that ball,” Espinal said Sunday morning. “But he got there easier because he knew it was an important (at-bat) and (Flores) was going to pull it.”

So, Espinal did as the shortstop told him, inching over toward the third-base line to cover that part of the field, knowing De La Cruz had the area between short and third.

Sure enough, Flores got around on a Nick Lodolo changeup and hit it at 99.4 mph to the five-/six-hole. De La Cruz went right and had an easy feed to second baseman Matt McLain to turn the inning-ending double play.

It was the first of three innings that featured a double play. After leadoff singles in the seventh and eighth, the Reds quickly erased the leadoff runners on a double play started by McLain and turned by De La Cruz. In the next inning, McLain fielded the ball on the shortstop side of second base and turned the double play on his own.

“There’s only a handful of second basemen in baseball who make that play,” Reds reliever Emilio Pagán said.

That was a ball De La Cruz knew McLain would handle because of their communication, their experience playing together and their instincts.

“We play good when we’re together,” De La Cruz said. “We’re comfortable together.”

That communication is part of the maturation of De La Cruz as a shortstop, and it helps to have his double-play partner — De La Cruz and McLain lay claim to Batman and refer to the other as their Robin — back with him.

McLain, like Espinal, could easily be the everyday shortstop for the Reds if it weren’t for the 6-foot-5 wunderkind that is De La Cruz.

Espinal was acquired last spring after McLain underwent shoulder surgery and the team needed another shortstop.

Espinal said he was immediately impressed with not just McLain’s ability but also the way that McLain and De La Cruz worked together.

“I’ve only seen Elly for a whole year and Matt, regular season, two games, but what I saw in spring training with the two playing together is that they looked like they’ve been playing together a long time,” Espinal said. “They know which balls each other can get to, and the most important thing is the communication they have. They communicate before every pitch. People don’t see that and can’t hear it. I’m there; I can hear them talk about who has the ball, who has the base. It’s those important little details that you need to have.”

McLain is also a vital part of the offense this season, batting second in the first two games and leadoff Sunday. McLain went 0-for-5 on Opening Day but had several balls that seemed to be caught in the wind. He had two hits Saturday, including his first home run, and another homer Sunday.

Offensive pause

You can excuse Gavin Lux if he thinks he was sold a raw bill of goods when everyone told him how great it would be to hit at Great American Ball Park.

Lux has just two hits in his first three games as a Red, but the five balls he has put in play are averaging an exit velocity of 93.1 mph. He felt like he got a good swing off in the seventh inning of Sunday’s loss, but Luis Matos caught it on the warning track for an out in right. Lux hit the ball 101.4 mph off the bat, which would usually be good enough at Great American Ball Park to find the seats. Instead, it found Matos’ glove.

Reds center fielder Blake Dunn said any ball hit to him or his left seemed to hit a wall in the air, but anything to his right into left field took off. The Reds and San Francisco Giants combined for four home runs Sunday, with three to left and McLain’s second homer of the season just clearing the fence by the Reds’ bullpen in left-center field.

Dunn could be seen taking his first steps back before having to race in to catch several fly balls, and in his first at-bat, he pulled a Robbie Ray pitch foul to right field even though he thought it was fair by a good 20 feet off the bat. Matos ran after the ball, tracking it until it took a turn to the right and safely into foul territory.

And then there was Sunday’s seventh inning. With the Reds trailing 4-3, McLain hit a ball 96.4 mph off the bat, only to see Matos corral it. Two batters later, De La Cruz hit a ball 103.1 mph off the bat at 26 degrees, a combination that would usually mean a home run just about anywhere, especially Great American Ball Park. Instead, it was another out.

“We didn’t get a ton of hits, but I thought we hit some balls really (hard),” Reds manager Terry Francona said. “Elly and McLain I thought hit home runs. Lux has lined out about four times. (Spencer) Steer hits a ball … there are some good at-bats. I know there’s not a ton to show for it, but there’s been some good at-bats.”

Brotherly inning

Left-hander Taylor Rogers started the eighth inning for the Reds, making his debut after a trade from San Francisco. After the Giants had scored two runs, they turned to their right-handed submariner, Tyler Rogers, Taylor’s twin brother, to start the bottom of the eighth.

Taylor Rogers gave up two unearned runs on a hit over 2/3 of an inning. He was replaced by Scott Barlow, who pitched a scoreless inning on Opening Day but gave up a walk and a hit Sunday, allowing an inherited runner to score.

Tyler Rogers gave up a hit and a walk in his half of the eighth but was bailed out by an inning-ending double play.

Game ball hot potato

Since playing together in the minor leagues, De La Cruz and McLain have had a postgame celebration that features De La Cruz throwing an alley-oop pass to McLain before shaping his arms into a hoop for McLain to dunk the baseball through. They got their first chance of 2025 in Saturday’s victory.

But that wasn’t the end of the road for that baseball, which McLain caught for the final out. After “dunking” the ball, McLain picked it up and handed it to Pagán, who had earned the save, as the team shook hands.

Pagán was going to keep it as a memento of his first save of the season and the 34th of his career when catcher Jose Trevino suggested he give it to Francona to commemorate his first victory as the Reds’ manager.

Pagán thought that was a great idea but wasn’t quite sure when general manager Brad Meador suggested he interrupt Francona’s postgame news conference and present it to him.

“First one,” Pagán said as he dropped the ball at the table in the Rob Butcher Press Room located just outside the Reds’ clubhouse.

Francona briefly smiled and said, “Thanks, man.”

Francona said he’d put it in his Great American Ball Park office, which he has started decorating with a bat signed by Pete Rose, a print of Rose by artist C.F. Payne and a shadow box that holds a picture of Roberto Clemente and one of Clemente’s gloves.

Although Pagán initially said he wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to do when Meador suggested it, after he went back into the clubhouse, he told Meador it was the right move.

Different days, different ways

In each of the first two games of the season, the Reds led 3-2 going into the ninth inning. Thursday, Ian Gibaut gave up four runs in the ninth en route to a 6-4 Giants victory. Saturday, Pagán retired the Giants to preserve the 3-2 win.

There were two big differences in the games, despite the similar scores:

• Reds pitchers struck out 17 Giants batters Thursday, including eight strikeouts from starter Hunter Greene over five innings. All 10 of the team’s other outs were recorded on fly balls. The only putout recorded by first baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand was a popup.

• Lodolo recorded the only strikeout in Friday’s game. Lodolo, who struggled with his command all day, switched to his sinker after the first three innings and got groundball after groundball. Encarnacion-Strand finished with 14 putouts on the day.

The week that was

The Reds dropped their opening series to the Giants, with Gibaut blowing a save opportunity on Opening Day and Pagán holding down the save Saturday. Sunday featured dueling perfect-game bids through four innings before the Giants put up four runs on Reds starter Nick Martinez en route to a 6-3 road victory.

The week ahead

The Reds welcome one of the favorites in the American League, the Texas Rangers, pitting two future Hall of Fame managers against each other: Francona and Bruce Bochy. Brady Singer will make his Reds debut Monday against the Rangers’ Kumar Rocker. Greene will make his second start of the season Wednesday, this time against right-hander Jack Leiter of the Rangers. The Reds then go to Milwaukee for four games against last year’s division champions before heading to San Francisco to complete their season series with the Giants.

Injury updates

• LHP Andrew Abbott (left shoulder rotator cuff strain): Abbott threw five innings to minor leaguers Thursday in Arizona and returned to Cincinnati. He threw 74 pitches and said he felt good. He will likely make another rehab start before returning.

• OF Austin Hays (left calf strain): Hays could return as soon as April 11, when the Reds return from their trip to Milwaukee and San Francisco. Hays was already feeling better, he said Sunday morning. He’s hoping to be back soon. After dealing with a calf injury last season, he was glad they were cautious and started him on the injured list instead of pushing through it like he did a year ago.

• C Tyler Stephenson (left oblique strain): Stephenson had an MRI the day before Opening Day and was told his oblique was “80 percent healed.” He’s scheduled to have another MRI while the Reds are on the road. He is not expected to travel.

• RHP Rhett Lowder (right forearm strain): Lowder, who started behind the rest of the pitchers, has begun throwing off the mound. He was expected to throw again Sunday in Arizona.

• RHP Alexis Díaz (left hamstring strain): The Reds are working on Díaz’s mechanics after his injury threw them out of whack. “Stability with his front leg is probably the biggest thing,” Francona said of Díaz. “Then, incorporating that into his delivery, where that becomes comfortable and almost second nature so he’s not trying to pitch and think about something else.”

Minor-league roundup

• Triple-A Louisville (2-1): There are good signs in Louisville for three players who saw significant time in Cincinnati last year but are starting the season in Louisville: outfielders Will Benson and Rece Hinds and third baseman Noelvi Marte. In the first three games, Benson is 6-for-14 with a home run and no strikeouts. Hinds is 4-for-8 with two home runs, two strikeouts and two walks. Marte is 4-for-11 with three doubles, two strikeouts and a walk. Marte has played two games at third base and one at shortstop.

• Double-A Chattanooga: The Lookouts begin their season Friday at the Rocket City Trash Pandas (Angels).

• High-A Dayton: The Dragons begin their season Friday at the West Michigan Whitecaps (Tigers).

• Class A Daytona: The Tortugas begin their season Friday at home against the Bradenton Marauders (Pirates).

(Top photo of Matt McLain: Jeff Dean / Getty Images)

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