This story was excerpted from Mark Sheldon’s Reds Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

DENVER -- Shortstop Matt McLain and left-handed starting pitcher Brandon Williamson had quite the Mother's Day surprise for their moms on Sunday. It was when both Reds prospects learned they were getting their first promotions to the big leagues from Triple-A Louisville. 

McLain first called his mother, Wendi, who was at his brother Nick's baseball game with Arizona State. 

"She was yelling. She was trying to catch [Nick] before he got on his bus," McLain said. "She was yelling and hung up and called me right back. My dad called me. It was cool.”

Williamson was at home with his wife and daughter, making supper, when he got the word by phone from Louisville manager Pat Kelly. The first call he broke off to share the news was to his mother, Twyla, who is a converted Reds fan.

"I just kind of played it off like I was just calling for Mother’s Day and hanging out," Williamson said. "Then I was like, ‘Do you think you could get a flight to Denver?’ She was like, ‘What?’ Then all of a sudden, it kind of clicked. She realized it and it was a pretty special moment on Mother’s Day to have that."

McLain, who is ranked as the No. 5 prospect in the organization and No. 94 overall by MLB Pipeline, made his big league debut in Monday's 9-8 loss to the Rockies. His first hit came in his second at-bat, a hustle double to center field. He also walked and scored two runs. His parents, grandparents and brother, Sean, were among the roughly 20 family and friends at Coors Field to watch.

Williamson was added to the taxi squad Monday and was formally promoted on Tuesday to start vs. Colorado. He turned in a superlative debut, allowing one earned run on two hits in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out six and walked two in a no-decision during a 3-1 win for Cincinnati.

"They settled right into the team. They didn’t make a big deal out of it," Reds manager David Bell said. "They went out and did everything they could to help us win."