McLain earns two-spot in lineup; Abbott 'waiting out the storm' after rough start

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- It wasn't a roster competition, but the Reds came into camp with an open question about who would bat second in their lineup between leadoff man TJ Friedl and third batter Elly De La Cruz.

With his offensive performances this spring, Matt McLain definitively answered that question, while proving he once again belonged in the two-hole.

“I wanted that," manager Terry Francona said on Monday morning. "I was hoping it would be the case, because obviously I think it’s our best lineup because I stayed with it so much last year. He does so many things that don’t appear in the box score. He can bunt. He’s one of our most alert baserunners. That’s a good guy to have sandwiched between Elly and Friedl.”

McLain entered the day leading all of Major League Baseball this spring in average (.553), on-base percentage (.605), slugging (1.105), OPS (1.710), runs (15), hits (21) and total bases (42). He was also tied for the lead with six home runs, with his latest coming during Sunday's game vs. the Mariners.

“He might hit second, third and fourth," joked Francona.

McLain, who emerged as a catalyst during his 2023 rookie year, couldn't build on it in 2024 because he missed the whole season recovering from left shoulder surgery.

In 147 games last season, McLain batted .220 with a .643 OPS, 15 home runs, 50 RBIs and struck out 167 times. Francona had opened the season with him batting second and stuck with it amid the struggles, before eventually relenting and dropping him to the bottom of the order.

McLain, who added weight and strength in the offseason, is showing improved pitch selection, and has shown he can hit the ball to all fields.

“I’ve seen guys tear it up out here. The bell rings and it’s 30 degrees and you get off to a 1-for-20," Francona said. "Some guys panic. Some guys don’t. I don’t see panic in him. He got through it last year.”

Abbott roughed up

Reds Opening Day starter Andrew Abbott wasn't happy with his latest start in Monday's 11-6 loss to the Diamondbacks, after he gave up eight earned runs and eight hits over two innings. Abbott was pulled in the third inning without recording an out, and re-entered the game in the bottom of the fourth, where he gave up two more hits and a walk. He exited for good with no outs in the fourth.

Abbott has given up multiple runs in each of his five spring starts and has a 13.85 ERA.

“I’m just overall frustrated," said Abbott, who walked three batters and struck out three while throwing 76 pitches. "Results aren’t what I want them to be, obviously, but I feel my process is there. I feel like my work in the bullpen has been there. I’m kind of waiting out the storm, waiting to see when it’ll click. But today, mechanically, it clicked. Everything I’ve been working on with off-speed pitches, with cutters, with changeups was OK. It could be better, obviously.”

Between starts, Abbott worked on a mechanical adjustment that was intended to keep pitches from drifting back over the plate. There were still pitches he wanted back, including an 0-2 breaking ball to James McCann that was slugged for a two-run homer in the third inning.

"Off-speed pitches were pretty sharp except for the one to McCann," Abbott said. "You’re going to mess up in the game -- I know that -- but I’ve got to do a better job in the zone, limiting free passes, limiting guys on base.”

Francona misses game

Although Francona was in Goodyear for the morning workout, he reported not feeling well. He ended up not making the trip to Scottsdale for the game, with bench coach Freddie Benavides serving as acting manager.