Reds’ Matt McLain has an immediate influence on offensive and defense

Cincinnati-Die Map Cincinnati Reds player Carry told the third Baseman Santiago Espinal that he played with a runner on Saturday on Saturday, but Shortstop Elly de la Cruz felt like Flores felt.

“I play a little here,” said de la Cruz to Espinal and signaled to his right side.

Espinal knew what the card said, but the intuition of the shortstop replaced the card.

Sure enough, the ball went to de la Cruz ‘right.

“If I had just played, I could have come to this ball,” said Espinal on Sunday morning. “But he arrived there easier because he knew that it was an important (AT-BAT) and (Flores) would pull it.”

So Espinal did, as the shortstop told him, and went towards the third base line to cover this part of the field, and knew that de la Cruz had the area between short and third.

Sure enough, Flores turned with a Nick Lodolo change and hit him to the five/six hole with 99.4 miles per hour. De la Cruz went right and had a simple feed for the second Baseman Matt McLain to turn the double game to the end of the inning.

It was the first of three innings with a double game. After the leadoff -singles in the seventh and eighth conductor, the redoff runners quickly play the red runners in a double game started by McLain and turned by de la Cruz. In the next inning, McLain put the ball on the shortstop page of the second basis and turned the double game itself.

“There is only a handful of second basema in baseball that play this game,” said Reds Reliever Emilio Pagán.

That was a ball de la Cruz knew that McLain would deal with her communication, her experience and her instincts.

“We play well when we are together,” said de la Cruz. “We feel together.”

This communication is part of the maturation of de la Cruz as a shortstop and helps to have his double-game partner of La Cruz and McLain, Batman to Batman and describes the other as her Robin back with him.

McLain, like Espinal, could easily be the everyday shortstop for the red if there was no 6-foot 5-miracle of the de la Cruz.

Espinal was acquired last spring after McLain was subjected to shoulder operation and the team needed another shortstop.

Espinal said he was immediately impressed by McLain’s skills, but also of the way McLain and de la Cruz worked together.

“I only saw Elly for a whole year and matt, regular season, two games, but what I saw together in spring training with the two is that they looked like they had played together for a long time,” said Espinal. “You know which balls can get to each other, and the most important thing is communication you have. You communicate before every pitch. People don’t see it and cannot hear them. I am there; I can hear them talking about who has the ball. They are these important little details they have.”

McLain is also an integral part of the offensive this season, which takes second place in the first two games and leads on Sunday. McLain went 0: 5 on the opening day, but had several balls that seemed trapped in the wind. He had two goals on Saturday, including his first Homeruns and another Homer Sunday.

Offensive break

You can excuse Gavin Lux if he believes that he was sold a raw goods bill when everyone told him how great it would be to beat in the Great American Ball Park.

Lux has only two goals in his first three games, but the five balls he brought into play are an average exit speed of 93.1 miles per hour. He had the feeling that he got a good swing on Sunday in the seventh inning, but Luis Matos caught the warning distance for an outer extension. Lux hit the ball 101.4 miles per hour from the racket, which would normally be good enough in the Great American Ball Park to find the seats. Instead, Matos found it.

The Field of Reds Center, Blake Dunn, said that every ball who was hit on him or his left seemed to hit a wall in the air, but everything got off to the right into the left field. The Reds and San Francisco Giants combined on Sunday for four homes, three links and McLain’s second Homer of the season, which loosened the fence through the bullpen of the red in the left field.

Dunn could be seen as he took his first steps back before he had to take several fly balls, and in his first bat he pulled a foul on Robbie Ray in the right field, even though he thought it was fair with a good 20 feet away. Matos ran for the ball and pursued it until it turned to the right and safe into a bad territory.

And then there was the seventh inning on Sunday. With the red with 4: 3 McLain, a ball hit 96.4 miles per hour from the racket just to see him to correction it. Two batteries later, de la Cruz hit a ball 103.1 miles per hour with 26 degrees, a combination that would normally mean a home game almost everywhere, especially everywhere, the great American ball park. Instead, it was another one.

“We didn’t get a lot of hits, but I thought we really (hard) hit a few balls,” said Reds manager Terry Francona. “Elly and McLain, I thought Homeruns. Lux has cleared up about four times.

Brotherly inning

The left -handed Taylor Rogers started the eighth inning for the red and made his debut after a trade from San Francisco. After the Giants had scored two runs, they turned to their right-handed submarine, Tyler Rogers, Taylor’s twin brother to start the ground of eighth place.

Taylor Rogers gave up two unexpected runs with one goal over 2/3 inning. He was replaced by Scott Barlow, who set up a goalless inning on the opening day, but gave a walk and a goal on Sunday, so that a inherited runner scored a goal.

Tyler Rogers gave a goal and a walk in his half of the eighth place, but was saved by a double game at the end of the end.

Game Ball Hot Potato

Since de la Cruz and McLain played together in the small leagues, they have organized a replica party in which de la Cruz throws a street pass to McLain before forming his arms in a ripe so that McLain dipped the baseball. They had their first chance of 2025 in the victory on Saturday.

But that was not the end of the street for this baseball, which McLain caught the final. After McLain “dipped” the ball, he picked it up and handed him to Pagán, who deserved the rescue when the team shook his hand.

Pagán would keep it as a souvenir of his first season and the 34th of his career when catcher Jose Trevino suggested that he would give Francona to remind him of his first victory as Reds manager.

Pagán found this a great idea, but was not quite sure when General Manager Brad Meador suggested that he interrupted the post -game press conference from Francona and presented him.

“First,” said Pagán when he dropped the ball at the table in Rob Butcher Press Room outside the Red Falls.

Francona smiled briefly and said: “Thank you, man.”

Francona said he put it in his great office of the American ball park, which he had depicted with a bat by Pete Rose, an expression of the rose by artist Cf Payne, and a shadow box with a picture of Roberto Clement and one of Clement’s gloves.

Although Pagán initially said he was not sure whether it was the right thing when Meador suggested it, he said Meador, after taking it back to the clubhouse, it was the right step.

Different days, different ways

In each of the first two games of the season, the Reds led 3-2 to the ninth inning. On Thursday, Ian Gibaut gave up four runs in the ninth win on the way to a 6-4-giant victory. On Saturday Pagán withdrew the Giants to keep the 3-2 victory.

Despite the similar points, there were two big differences in the games:

• Reds Pitchers awarded 17 Giants Batters on Thursday, including eight rashes from Starter Hunter Greene over five innerings. All 10 other outs of the team were recorded in fly balls. The only putout that was recorded by the first Baseman Christian Encarnacion strand was a popup.

• Lodolo recorded the only strike in the game on Friday. Lodolo, who had to struggle with his command all day, switched to his sink after the first three innings and got ground ball after groundball. Encarnacion beach ended 14 putouts on the day.

The week was that

The Reds dropped their opening series to the Giants, whereby Gibaut on the opening day had a save opportunities Blies and Pagán held the more lifeguard. On Sunday, the dueling Perfect game bids showed up by four inner bids before the Giants achieved four runs on Reds Starter Nick Martinez on the way to a 6: 3 victory on the 6: 3 victory.

The upcoming week

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

Increasing injury

• LHP Andrew Abbott (left -shoulder -rotator cuff): Abbott threw five innings on Minor Leaguers in Arizona on Thursday and returned to Cincinnati. He threw 74 parking spaces and said he felt good. He will probably start another rehab before returning.

• by Austin Hays (left calf trunk): Hays was able to return on April 11th when the Reds return from their trip to Milwaukee and San Francisco. Hays felt better, he said on Sunday morning. He hopes to be back soon. After dealing with a veal injury last season, he was glad that they were careful and began to assert him on the injured list instead of asserting them a year ago.

• C Tyler Stephenson (sliced ​​trunk on the left): Stephenson had an MRI the day before the opening day and was announced that his slanted “80 percent healed”. He is said to have another MRI while the Reds are on the move. It is not expected to travel.

• RHP Rhett Lowder (right forearm): Lowder, who started behind the rest of the jugs, has started to throw off the hill. He was supposed to throw again in Arizona on Sunday.

• RHP Alexis Díaz (left knee): The red work on Díaz ‘Mechanik after his injury has brought her out of balance. “Stability with its front leg is probably the largest,” said Francona about Díaz. “Then incorporate into his delivery, in which this becomes comfortable and almost the second nature, so that he does not try to put something else and think about something else.”

Minor League-Roundup

• Triple-A Louisville (2-1): In Louisville there are good signs for three players who saw a lot of time in Cincinnati last year, but start the season in Louisville: Outfield wants Benson and Reces Hinds and the third Baseman Noelvi Marte. In the first three games, Benson 6-towards-14 is with a Homerun and without strikeouts. Hinds is 4-to-8 with two home runs, two strike outs and two walks. Marte is 4 against 11 with three doubles, two strikes and a walk. Marte played two games in the third base and one at Shortstop.

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

• High-A Dayton: The dragons begin their season with the West Michigan Whitecaps (Tigers).

• Class A Daytona: The tortugas start their season at home against the Bradenton Marauders (pirates) on Friday.

(Matt McLain Topto: Jeff Dean / Getty Images)