CINCINNATI -- Matt McLain did a little bit of everything on Saturday night -- and made some history in the process.
But his Reds ran out of magic as the Marlins rallied for an 8-4 win before 38,302 fans on Harry Potter night at Great American Ball Park.
The Cincinnati second baseman doubled to spark a two-run rally in the third inning, and went back-to-back with Ke’Bryan Hayes in the fifth to give the Reds a 4-3 lead before the Marlins rallied against the Reds bullpen in a four-run eighth.
McLain, struggling to a .190/.291/.334 line with 10 home runs over 97 games, broke an 0-for-10 slump with his third-inning double. He also showed his true wizardry in the field -- ranging to his left, diving for the ball and getting to his feet to throw out Owen Caissie on a two-hop grounder to open the fourth.
“I think he's fast, so I just got up, and [Sal Stewart's] really good over there, so I just kind of got up and chucked it, and it wasn't a great throw. Sal made a good play,” McLain said.
In turn, McLain’s errorless streak reached 108 games, passing Brandon Phillips for the Modern Era (since 1900) franchise record for second basemen, per Elias Sports Bureau.
“Make the plays. I don't know,” McLain said. “I'm just playing second base. ... The work [in fielding practice] is always a result of what happens out there. So, if you want a result, you’ve got to work for it. So, I'm just going to continue to do that.”
“I didn't know that,” Reds skipper Terry Francona said of the new standard McLain set. “I would have already bragged about him defensively because he's always in the right place, and he throws the ball to the right base. He keeps his head up and he's a good defender.”
Tejay Antone (2-1) retired just one batter and was charged with three of the four runs in the eighth, allowing one hit but hitting two batters. It was Antone’s first loss since Sept. 22, 2020, against Milwaukee, a span of 73 appearances.
“Tejay came in and kind of uncharacteristically wasn't commanding,” Francona said. “You could see it spinning and he wasn't throwing it where he wanted to.”
Meanwhile, Brady Singer posted a quality start for the third time in as many August starts, giving up three runs in six innings for a third straight outing.
“It was definitely a battle,” Singer said. “Gave them a lot of hits, but was able to get through six there, and just definitely a battle for sure. Couldn't really get to the slider exactly where I wanted to on some of the guys, but yeah, they played some good defense behind me too.”