McLain went 3-for-4 with an RBI, a run scored and two walks in Saturday's 6-5 win over the Red Sox.
McLain tore the cover off the ball during spring training and is carrying it over to begin the regular season. The second baseman drew an eight-pitch walk in the first inning and later scored on a fielder's choice. He then drove in Ke'Bryan Hayes with an RBI double in his second plate appearance. Through two games, McLain is 3-for-7 at the plate with three walks.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Back in action Tuesday
Rotowire
McLain (illness) is starting at second base and batting second in Tuesday's exhibition game against the Brewers, Gordon Wittenmyer of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
McLain was unavailable for Monday's exhibition game due to an illness, but he's good to go after taking a day to recover. The second baseman will begin the season batting second for the Reds after posting a .220/.300/.343 slash line with 15 homers and 18 steals in 147 regular-season games last year.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Overcoming illness
Rotowire
McLain will not play in Monday's exhibition game versus the Brewers due to illness, Gordon Wittenmyer of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
McLain caught a flu bug that made its way around the Reds' clubhouse, but the team anticipates the second baseman playing in Tuesday's exhibition finale. The 26-year-old is slated to open the 2026 campaign as the Reds' two-hole hitter.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Locked in at plate
Rotowire
McLain batted second and went 2-for-2 with two walks, two home runs, six RBI and a third run scored in Monday's spring game against the Cubs.
McLain is wielding a hot stick early in the Cactus League and is 8-for-14 with three homers and nine RBI through five games. He appears poised for a bounce-back season after slumping for much of 2025 and landing in the bottom of the order. McLain is looking like he did in 2023, when he posted an .864 OPS and 127 OPS+ as a rookie.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Hitting second
Rotowire
McLain went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI while batting second in Sunday's spring training loss to the Mariners. The Reds would like to see McLain bat second this year, but manager Terry Francona won't force it, Charlie Goldsmith of The Dayton Daily News reports. He was hitting second in a lineup that featured a typical top of the order, with TJ Friedl and Elly De La Cruz sandwiching McLain and Eugenio Suarez batting cleanup.
McLain hit second 66 times last season and struggled in the role. Francona suggested that it won't merely be McLain's spring training stat line that will drive the batting-order decision. "Just like everyone, you want them to feel good about themselves when they leave here," Francona said. "That's the whole idea. If I had a formula, we'd do it. You want guys to play enough. Everyone is different, which is ok."
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Reds' Matt McLain: Adds 12 pounds over offseason
Rotowire
McLain has added 12 pounds of muscle over the offseason, Charlie Goldsmith of Fox 19 Now Cincinnati reports.
After rehabbing injuries each of the last two offseasons, McLain has been able to focus on training this winter and said he feels like he's getting a "fresh start" heading into the 2026 season. The second baseman slashed a disappointing .220/.300/.343 over 147 regular-season contests in 2025, but he has some bounce-back potential heading into his age-26 campaign.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Getting rest Saturday
Rotowire
McLain isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Athletics.
McLain will get a breather Saturday after going 9-for-32 (.281) with a homer, four RBI and six runs scored through his first 10 games of September. Gavin Lux will start at the keystone instead, moving TJ Friedl into the DH spot and opening up center field for Will Benson.
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Reds' Matt McLain: In productive stretch
Rotowire
McLain went 1-for-1 with two walks and a solo home run in Saturday's 6-3 win over the Mets.
McLain and other Cincinnati hitters jumped on New York right-hander Jonah Tong for homers in three consecutive innings. He's launched three homers in the last seven games and extended a hit streak to nine contests, during which he's gone 11-for-27 (.407) with three home runs, six RBI and eight runs. His .230 batting average is at its highest point since April 2.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Belts homer in loss
Rotowire
McLain went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's 4-2 loss to the Cardinals.
McLain's seventh-inning home run brought the Reds within a run, but they couldn't complete the comeback. The homer was his 12th of the season, but his first since July 18 and just his fifth extra-base hit in the second half. August hasn't been kind to McLain, who has a .219/.254/.281 slash line over 21 games this month.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Off day Wednesday
Rotowire
McLain is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Phillies.
McLain will take a breather, and Santiago Espinal will man second base and bat eighth Wednesday. Over the last 30 days, McLain has slashed .279/.326/.349 with one home run, seven RBI, 11 runs scored, three stolen bases and a 7:26 BB:K. The extra-base power hasn't been there for McLain this season. After slugging .507 as a rookie in 2023, McLain missed the 2024 season and has slugged just .339 across 452 plate appearances this year.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Receiving day off
Rotowire
McLain is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Pirates.
He's gone 4-for-11 with a walk while starting the first three games of the series in Pittsburgh, but McLain will receive a breather on getaway day. Gavin Lux will step in at second base and bat second.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Exiting starting nine
Rotowire
McLain is not in the lineup for Wednesday's tilt against the Cubs.
McLain looks to be receiving a routine day off after starting in each of the previous 11 contests. Gavin Lux will get the nod at second base as the Reds try to complete the sweep.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Raps two hits, RBI in win
Rotowire
McLain went 2-for-4 with a walk, an RBI and a run scored in Saturday's 6-2 win over the Rays.
The Reds plated two runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, and McLain had a role in all three rallies. He's hit safely in 10 of 11 games, going 15-for-44 (.341) with three extra-base hits, four RBI, three walks, a stolen base and six runs scored during that stretch. His batting average is up to .220, its highest point since April 3.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Matches career steal mark
Rotowire
McLain went 1-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base and a run scored in Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Mets.
McLain had a hand in both Cincinnati runs. His first-inning single contributed to the the first run, and then he walked and stole a base before scoring a game-tying run in the eighth. The steal was his 14th through 90 games, tying the career-high mark he established as a rookie over 89 games in 2023.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Slugs homer as No. 2 hitter
Rotowire
McLain went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's 4-1 win over St. Louis.
McLain gave the Reds an early lead when he belted a first-inning home run, which extended his hit streak to 10 games. A season-opening slump prompted manager Terry Francona to drop McLain to eighth or ninth in the order over the last several weeks, but he moved into the No. 2 spot Sunday for just the second time since mid-May. In his last 15 games, McLain has posted a .340/.421/.560 line with three home runs and eight RBI, and his continued surge at the plate could result in him settling into the two hole on a more consistent basis.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Adds to productive stretch in win
Rotowire
McLain went 1-for-2 with an RBI in Wednesday's 4-2 win over the Twins.
McLain has been a pretty big disappointment with a .619 OPS this season, but he's slowly beginning to find a rhythm recently. The 25-year-old second baseman is slashing .293/.396/.463 with two home runs, two doubles and eight RBI over his last 48 plate appearances (13 games). McLain lost all of last season due to injury and has consistently hit ninth for over a month, but perhaps manager Terry Francona will consider moving the middle infielder back up the order if he continues to swing a hot bat.
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Reds' Matt McLain: Piles on in win
Rotowire
McLain went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in Saturday's 11-1 win over the Tigers.
McLain's three-run blast in the eighth inning provided further cushion for Cincinnati in the blowout win. Even though he's gone a respectable 7-for-26 at the plate over his last eight games, McLain is still batting just .186 on the season on the heels of a rough April and May. He continues to bat ninth in the order on a regular basis, though he'll elevate to the No. 2 spot for Sunday's series finale while the Tigers send left-handed opener Tyler Holton to the hill.
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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: 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.
