Matt Mclain Sparks Reds to 15-1 Rout With Two-Run Homer
matt mclain gave Cincinnati the early jolt it needed Thursday, launching a two-run home run to center field in the Reds' 15-1 win over the Washington Nationals. His blast put the Reds ahead 2-0, and he added a double in a game that stretched the final margin to 14 runs.
McLain Sets The Tone
The Reds' second baseman finished 2-for-3 with a home run, a double, three RBIs and one walk. The homer came off the bat at 104 miles per hour, and the double later left his bat at 102.2 miles per hour.
That was the cleanest line of the afternoon and the most direct sign that his contact has sharpened. Over his last seven games, McLain has a.292/.393/.500 slash line, six RBIs, three extra-base hits and more walks than strikeouts.
Reds Sees More From McLain
The run of form matters because it follows a disappointing 2025 season and a slow start this year, when he carried a 72 OPS+ last year and a 71 OPS+ this season. McLain was once part of the Reds' young core that broke through in 2023, when he produced 3.6 WAR, hit 16 home runs and posted a 127 OPS+ in 89 games, then finished fifth in Rookie of the Year voting.
Thursday's game offered the kind of game-by-game response the Reds have been waiting for: hard contact, extra-base damage and production at the top of the box score. The 11 hard-hit balls over his last seven games back up the surge, and the 15-1 finish showed how quickly his bat can tilt a game when he is squaring up pitches like this.
Edwin Arroyo In Louisville
McLain's rebound also lands while Edwin Arroyo is forcing attention in Triple-A. Arroyo leads the International League in hits with 55 and triples with four, sits second in runs scored with 33, and ranks fifth in OPS at.998 and slugging percentage at.590.
He has also hit.342 with eight home runs, 29 RBIs and two games at third base in Louisville, where manager Pat Kelly said Arroyo is learning the position on the fly during the season. That gives the Reds another internal option if they need one, but Thursday belonged to McLain, whose two extra-base hits and three RBIs put him back in the middle of the conversation.
