There are plenty of times I will attempt to apologize or pick selective endpoints to support my own argument with Cincinnati Reds players. That's thefun' part of breaking down stats, after Reds games with FanDuel Sports Network Photo by Rob LeiterMLB Photos via Getty ImagesNever miss a Reds game with blackout-free streaming with FanDuel Sports NetworkPlus watch hundreds of live, local NBA and NHL games all season long, as well as select WNBA games, PWHL games, and your favorite local teams to get the games and coverage that matter most to Sports Network: Pick your plan. Stream your teamsThere's no sugarcoating just how poor Matt McLain's overall numbers are through 78 games of the 2025 season Chase Burns Jersey, though. There just isn' play on Sunday, he was the owner of just a 74 OPS+ and had struck out 77 times in 67 games - his 28.6% strikeout rate ranking 8th highest out of 160 qualifying MLB hitters through that missed all of 2024 after missing half of 2023. He'd battled multiple oblique issues as well as a major shoulder issue, and sitting idle - or anywhere other than the highest level at which the sport is played - is bound to create a metric heft of rust. McLain, we hope, has simply been finding his way through said rust and doing his damnedest to shake it off , just maybe, he homered again on Sunday as the Cincinnati Reds won 4-1 over the St. Louis Cardinals to salvage a game out of a series they were a breath away from winning, and it marked a pretty damn stellar full week for the Reds resident 2B. He came into Sunday having gone 9 for 20 with a pair of doubles on the week, his homer only adding to his weekly tally - one that's good enough to take home this edition of the Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Week Sunday's stats yet included https://www.cincinnatistoreonline.com/99-Reds_Deion_Sanders_Jersey, he'd hit.350.422.550 with a pair of doubles and pair of dingers datig back over his previous 12 games entering today's game, so he's clearly finding his way after struggling mightily through most of the first half of the manager Terry Francona, long a believer in McLain's upside, has certainly been paying attention to said run. He moved McLain back up to the 2 spot in the batting order on Sunday prior to his homer, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him hitting there in between TJ Friedl and Elly De La Cruz for a good bit of time going forward, to Matt, and for the sake of the Reds I truly hope this is just the first of many weekly takedowns he'll earn going forward.
