McLain went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run in Sunday's 4-2 win over the Diamondbacks.
McLain broke a 2-2 tie with what proved to be the game-winning homer off Zac Gallen in the seventh inning. It was the 25-year-old's first long ball since May 15, and he's showing signs of life with five hits and four RBI over his past five games. On the year, he owns a disappointing .197/.283/.318 slash line with seven home runs, 22 RBI, 27 runs scored and 11 steals across 227 plate appearances.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Getting breather Monday
Rotowire
McLain is not in the lineup for Monday's contest versus the Brewers.
McLain will get a routine day off after picking up just one hit over his last five games. Gavin Lux will handle second base in the series opener.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Enters as pinch hitter
Rotowire
McLain entered Tuesday's game as a pinch hitter and went 0-for-1 with an RBI in a 7-2 win over the Royals.
McLain took a seat on the bench to open the game while Gavin Lux filled in at second base. McLain eventually pitch hit for Lux against a lefty, contributing a run-scoring groundout in the eighth inning, and then finished the game at the keystone. McLain's navigated an early-season slump but entered Tuesday's contest on a modest four-game hit streak (5-for-17).
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Reds' Matt McLain: Logs steal in loss
Rotowire
McLain went 2-for-4 with a stolen base and a run scored in Sunday's 11-8 loss to the Cubs.
McLain's hit safely in three straight games and stole his 11th base of the season, showing some value above a line of .184/.287/.319. His season-opening slump prompted manager Terry Francona to drop him from second in the batting order to the lower third, from where McLain's hit .238 over the last 12 games. A .217 expected batting average indicates McLain's experienced bad luck along the way.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Slumping again
Rotowire
McLain went 0-for-3 in Wednesday's 3-1 loss to the Pirates.
McLain is 0-for-12 with seven strikeouts over the last four games. On May 13, manager Terry Francona dropped him from second in the order to the lower third, and McLain looked like he was breaking out of a season-opening slump while going 6-for-18, but the pendulum has swung back in the subsequent four contests. Both his strikeout (32.8) and whiff (31.0) percentages have increased relative to his rookie 2023 season. The good news is that McLain makes solid contact when he does hit the ball, with an 11.8 barrel percentage and 47.3 percent hard-hit rate.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Goes yard in win
Rotowire
McLain went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a double and an additional run scored during Thursday's 7-1 win over the White Sox.
McLain got off to a slow start to 2025, slashing .160/.282/.290 across his first 100 at-bats spanning 28 games, but the 25-year-old seems to be turning a corner. In nine games since, McLain is 8-for-32 (.250) with a pair of home runs, six runs scored and four stolen bases. He's up to six homers on the season.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Batting eighth Tuesday
Rotowire
McLain will start at second base and bat eighth in Tuesday's game versus the White Sox.
McLain had occupied either the second spot (28 times) or leadoff spot (three times) in his first 31 starts this season, but with a .596 OPS and 31.7 percent strikeout rate, he's earned a trip to the lower third of the Reds' batting order. Santiago Espinal has been elevated to the two hole for Cincinnati.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Breaks homer drought Saturday
Rotowire
McLain went 1-for-3 with a stolen base, two-run home run and two additional runs scored in Saturday's 13-9 win over the Astros.
After drawing a bases-loaded walk in the first inning, McLain pushed the Reds' lead to 11 runs in the third with a two-run homer off Logan VanWey. It was McLain's fifth home run of the season, but his first since April 18 against the Orioles. He also managed to extend his on-base streak to 11 games, and over that span he has gone 8-for-41 with six stolen bases, six runs scored, one home run and four RBI.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Swipes ninth bag
Rotowire
McLain went 1-for-5 with a stolen base in Thursday's 5-4 extra-innings loss to Atlanta.
Soon after McLain's return from the injured list in mid-April, his average plummeted below the Mendoza Line and has stayed there. However, he is making the most of the times he does get on base. Over the last 11 contests, McLain is batting .190 (8-for-42) with six walks and six stolen bases. He's up to nine steals over 30 games on the season, putting him on pace to eclipse the career-high 14 steals he delivered in 2023. McLain's most prolific season in the minors was 2022, when he swiped 27 bags across 103 games at Double-A Chattanooga.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Swipes bag Sunday
Rotowire
McLain went 1-for-3 with a walk and a steal in Sunday's loss to the Nationals.
McLain walked and stole second base for his sixth steal of the year but otherwise had a quiet day along with most of the lineup. He's yet to find any sort of rhythm offensively since returning from a brief IL stint in mid-April and currently sits in the bottom 10 of qualified hitters with a 31 percent strikeout rate.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Snaps hitless run
Rotowire
McLain went 1-for-4 with a stolen base in Monday's 3-1 win over the Cardinals.
McLain's seventh-inning single was his first hit in a week. It ended an 0-for-21 stretch that dropped his average to .157. He's had bad luck early on, as McLain is in the top tier in barrel (18.6 percent, 94th percentile) and hard-hit (53.5, 90th) rates through 20 games. Over time, results begin to correct, which suggests McLain is due for a productive stretch.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Not starting Sunday
Rotowire
McLain is not in the Reds' starting lineup against the Rockies on Sunday.
McLain will take a seat for Sunday's series finale after going 0-for-18 with nine strikeouts over his last four games. Gavin Lux will start at the keystone and bat fifth against Rockies right-hander Ryan Feltner.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Smacks three-run homer
Rotowire
McLain went 1-for-4 with a three-run homer and an additional run scored in Friday's 8-3 win over the Orioles.
McLain belted a three-run homer off Cade Povich in the fourth inning, and the former came across home plate for an additional run in the sixth inning on an infield single by Austin Hays. It was McLain's fourth home run of the season and first since March 31 against the Rangers. He's slashing .205/.340/.538 with seven walks, two stolen bases, 11 runs scored and nine RBI across 47 plate appearances this season.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Exits starting nine
Rotowire
McLain is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Mariners.
McLain started the first two games upon his return from the 10-day injured list, but he'll get a breather for Thursday's series finale. Gavin Lux is at second base and batting fifth for the Reds on Thursday.
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Reds' Matt McLain: On base three times in return
Rotowire
McLain went 0-for-2 with three walks, an RBI and two runs scored in Tuesday's 8-4 win over the Mariners.
McLain was activated earlier in the day, returning to second base and second in the order. He scored each time after the first two walks, and then the final free pass came with the bases loaded. After opening the season with six hits in his first 19 at-bats, McLain is hitless over the last 11 and is batting .200.
The Reds reinstated McLain (hamstring) from the 10-day injured list Tuesday.
The 25-year-old has been sidelined since April 4 due to the hamstring strain, but he's ready to rejoin the active roster after a brief stay on the injured list. Prior to the injury, McLain had yet to find much consistency with a .214 average through 31 plate appearances, though he flashed his power with three home runs.
Reds' Matt McLain: Expected back when first eligible
Rotowire
Reds manager Terry Francona said Friday that he's pretty confident McLain (hamstring) will be ready for activation from the 10-day injured list when first eligible Tuesday, Charlie Goldsmith of the Dayton Daily News reports.
McLain's placement on the IL earlier this week with a left hamstring strain seemed largely precautionary, so it's not terribly surprising that he's trending toward a minimum absence. It appears the infielder will skip a rehab assignment and go directly back into the Reds' lineup once activated.
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