It was a big day for the Cincinnati Reds middle infield as Matt McLain and Elly De La Cruz put together big games at the plate. The two of them combined for five hits, four extra-base hits, and four runs batted in as they helped lead their club to a 9-4 win on Wednesday over the Los Angeles Angels.
The Highlights
Cincinnati didn’t waste much time on Wednesday afternoon against Tyler Anderson. Matt McLain led the game off with a double just out of the reach of Taylor Ward in left field. Two batters later it was Elly De La Cruz getting ahead in the count and crushing the ball over the head of Jo Adell in center. McLain scored on the play and De La Cruz slid head first into third base for what appeared to be a triple, but he was called back to second base as the ball bounced off of the batters eye and back into play, which made it a ground-rule double. That may have cost the Reds a run as he likely would have scored on a ball that bounced off of the glove of the third baseman later in the inning.
In the bottom of the inning Nick Lodolo took the mound and he struggled. He walked three batters and gave up a single, but benefited from a caught stealing that allowed him to avoid giving up a run. But he didn’t do that on his own because he was pulled with two outs and replaced by reliever Simon Miller, who got the final out of the inning. Thanks to the magic of spring training, Lodolo returned to the mound in the 2nd and only needed five pitches to get three outs and end his day.
Mike Trout did not welcome reliever Bryan Shaw very friendly when he took over in the 3rd inning as he tied the game up with a home run. After walking the next batter, Shaw struck out the next three to finish his outing. Cincinnati got that run back in the top of the 4th inning when Christian Encarnacion-Strand hit a long home run to the top of the berm beyond the wall in left-center to put the Reds on top 2-1.
Matt McLain, who had doubled twice in the game already, came up to the plate in the top of the 5th inning with Stuart Fairchild on the bases and McLain made it easy for both of them to round the bases as he absolutely obliterated a ball that nearly left the stadium. There’s no pitch/hit tracking in this stadium – at least available to the public – but google maps shows that the ball landed about 425 feet from the plate. The home run for McLain put Cincinnati up 4-1 and just adds to what we wrote about on Tuesday – he’s hitting the ball incredibly hard so far this spring.
Only a few minutes later it was Elly De La Cruz making some more magic of his own. From the left side of the plate the shortstop unloaded for a line drive solo homer to extend the visiting club’s lead to 5-1.
The minor leaguers coming off of the bench got in on the part in the top of the 7th inning. Edwin Arroyo started things off with a 1-out single and he followed that up with a steal. Cam Collier then walked before Rule 5 draft pick Cooper Bowman picked up an RBI single that made it a 6-1 game.
An inning later the Reds offense was right back to it. Jacob Hurtubise started the inning with a single. Blake Dunn followed up with a double to put two men on. Noelvi Marte plated both of them with a triple to center, and then he scored on a ground out that made it 9-1.
After Bryan Shaw allowed a run in the 3rd inning, the bullpen locked things down. Taylor Rogers, Ian Gibaut, Lenny Torres Jr., Luis Mey, and Lyon Richardson all tossed shutout innings. But things got dicey for minor leaguer Sam Benschoter in the 9th inning. He walked the first three batters of the inning and saw all three come in to score before he got the final out of the game to complete a 9-4 victory.
You can see the box score for the game here.
News and Notes
The Cincinnati Reds middle infield is out to a solid start this spring…..
Matt McLain’s big day has hit 4-8 so far with two doubles and a home run. Elly De La Cruz didn’t quite have as big of a day as McLain, but his start to the spring has been a little better as he’s now 5-8 with a double and three home runs.
Along with those two, Jacob Hurtubise also had a multi-hit day for the Reds. He’s 3-4 this spring with a double, walk, and a steal.
Thursday’s Game
The Reds will be back on the field on Thursday afternoon. Graham Ashcraft is scheduled to be the starting pitcher for that one. Sam Moll, Josh Staumont, Scott Barlow, Zach Maxwell, and Chase Petty are also scheduled to pitch for Cincinnati in the game.
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