MATT MCLAIN NEWS

Adds to productive stretch in win McLain went 1-for-2 with an RBI in Wednesday's 4-2 win over the Twins.

Impact 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.

JUNE 19 • ROTOWIRE

Steer hits a 2-run homer and Reds win rain-shortened game 4-2 over Twins.

Spencer Steer hit a two-run home run and Nick Lodolo allowed two runs on three hits in five innings to help the Cincinnati Reds beat the Minnesota Twins 4-2 in a rain-shortened gam...

JUNE 19 • Associated Press

Elly De La Cruz has 3 RBIs, scores 3 runs as Reds rally to beat Tigers 8-4

Elly De La Cruz homered, scored three times and drove in three runs as the Cincinnati Reds rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-4

JUNE 15 • Associated Press

Piles on in win McLain went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in Saturday's 11-1 win over the Tigers.

Impact 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.

JUNE 15 • ROTOWIRE

Piles on in win McLain went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in Saturday's 11-1 win over the Tigers.

Impact McLain participated in the blowout win with a three-run home run in the eighth inning to give Cincinnati a 10-1 lead. He's had smallish segments where it looked like he might break out of a season-opening slump, but McLain hasn't been able to get the average about .200 -- it stands at .186 following an eight-game stretch in which he's gone 7-for-26 (.269). He continues to bat ninth in the order, and that is unlikely to change for now. McLain's .237 BABIP ranks 158th out of 163 qualified hitters.

JUNE 15 • ROTOWIRE

Stephenson hits a grand slam in 6-run fifth as Reds rout Tigers 11-1

Tyler Stephenson hit a grand slam in a six-run fifth inning and the Cincinnati Reds went on to an 11-1 win over the Detroit Tigers on Saturday afternoon

JUNE 14 • Associated Press

Hits go-ahead homer in win McLain went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run in Sunday's 4-2 win over the Diamondbacks.

Impact 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.

JUNE 9 • ROTOWIRE

Hits go-ahead homer in win McLain went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run in Sunday's 4-2 win over the Diamondbacks.

Impact 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 with seven home runs, 22 RBI, 27 runs scored and 11 steals across 227 plate appearances.

JUNE 9 • ROTOWIRE

Reds rely on the long ball, sweep Diamondbacks Matt McLain hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the seventh inning to help the Cincinnati Reds complete a three-game sweep of the visiting Ar...

JUNE 8 • THESTATE.COM

McLain's homer sends Reds past Diamondbacks 4-2 for 3-game sweep

Matt McLain broke a seventh-inning tie with a two-run homer off Zac Gallen, and the Cincinnati Reds completed a three-game sweep with a 4-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks

JUNE 8 • Associated Press

INSTANT REACTION: Reds Rally to Win 4-2, Sweep the Diamondbacks CINCINNATI -- Matt McLain hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning, and it proved to be the game-winner in a 4-2 Reds win.

JUNE 8 • SI.COM

McLain ends homer drought in the clutch as Reds sweep D-backs CINCINNATI -- Matt McLain’s go-ahead, two-run home run in the seventh inning helped the Cincinnati Reds complete the three-game sweep of the...

JUNE 8 • MLB.COM

Gavin Lux hits a grand slam, Reds rout Diamondbacks 13-1 for 2nd win of the day

Gavin Lux hit a grand slam, Christian Encarnacion-Strand homered for the second straight game and the Cincinnati Reds routed the Arizona Diamondbacks 13-1 on Saturday after complet...

JUNE 7 • Associated Press

De La Cruz out of Reds' lineup against Arizona after flight from Dominican Republic canceled

Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz will not be in the lineup for Cincinnati’s series opener against Arizona on Friday night after his flight from the Dominican Republic, where he was m...

JUNE 6 • Associated Press

'It's coming': Why Cincinnati Reds Matt McLain, Terry Francona predict slump buster for 2B "My freshman year at UCLA was tough. That was worse than now. So I've used that in this case," said Matt McLain, who was benched again Monda...

JUNE 3 • CINCINNATI.COM

Getting breather Monday McLain is not in the lineup for Monday's contest versus the Brewers.

Impact It's a routine day off for McLain, who has picked up just one hit over his last five games. Gavin Lux will handle second base in the series opener.

JUNE 2 • ROTOWIRE

Cameron delivers another solid outing as Royals top Reds, 3-2, salvaging final game of series

Noah Cameron scattered six singles, allowing one run in 6 1/3 innings, as the Kansas City Royals salvaged the final game of their series with the Cincinnati Reds, 3-2

MAY 29 • Associated Press

Enters as pinch hitter 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.

Impact McLain took a seat on the bench to open the game while Gavin Lux filled in at second base. McLain pitch hit for Lux against a lefty and contributed a run-scoring groundout in the eighth inning and then finished the game at the keystone. He's navigated an early-season slump, but McLain entered Tuesday's contest with a five-game hit streak (5-for-17).

MAY 28 • ROTOWIRE

Logs steal in loss McLain went 2-for-4 with a stolen base and a run scored in Sunday's 11-8 loss to the Cubs.

Impact 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.

MAY 26 • ROTOWIRE

Pete Crow-Armstrong hits go-ahead grand slam, drives in 6 runs as Cubs rally to beat Reds 13-6

Pete Crow-Armstrong had two home runs — including a go-ahead grand slam in the seventh inning — and drove in six runs as the Chicago Cubs rallied for a 13-6 victory over the Cincin...

MAY 24 • Associated Press

Slumping again McLain went 0-for-3 in Wednesday's 3-1 loss to the Pirates.

Impact McLain is 0-for-12 with seven strikeouts over the last four games. After manager Terry Francona dropped him from the second in the order to the lower third, McLain looked like he was breaking out of a season-opening slump, going 6-for-18 but the pendulum has swung back 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 hard-hit percentage.

MAY 22 • ROTOWIRE

Slumping again McLain went 0-for-3 in Wednesday's 3-1 loss to the Pirates.

Impact 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.

MAY 22 • ROTOWIRE

Goes yard in win 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.

Impact 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.

MAY 15 • ROTOWIRE

Reds hit 3 home runs, Martinez throws 7 shutout innings to snap 3-game skid, beat White Sox 7-1

Elly De La Cruz, Will Benson and Matt McLain homered, Nick Martinez pitched seven shutout innings and the Cincinnati Reds snapped a three-game losing streak with a 7-1 win over the...

MAY 15 • Associated Press

Batting eighth Tuesday McLain will start at second base and bat eighth in Tuesday's game versus the White Sox.

Impact 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.

MAY 13 • ROTOWIRE