Steer, McLain boost rookie credentials in win vs. childhood team
ANAHEIM — Growing up in close by Long Beach, Calif., Reds left fielder Spencer Steer went to a number of Angels video games every season. Garret Anderson was his first favourite participant, however that modified when one other outfielder got here on the scene.
“When Mike Trout got called up, he was my favorite after that,” Steer mentioned earlier than Tuesday’s sequence opener in opposition to the Angels. “It’s really special for me to be playing here, for sure.”
It was Steer who spoiled the long-anticipated return of Trout from the injured record after the famous person missed 38 video games with a fractured hand. His RBI double throughout a three-run fifth inning supplied the go-ahead run in Cincinnati’s much-needed 4-3 victory at Angel Stadium to start a 10-game West Coast street swing.
Trying to maintain their postseason hopes robust, the Reds moved to a half-game again of the D-backs for the third National League Wild Card spot and remained 4 video games behind the first-place Brewers within the NL Central race. They are a half-game behind the second-place Cubs.
A two-out present, created partly by Elly De La Cruz’s pace, boosted the Reds within the prime of the fifth inning. With runners on second and third base, De La Cruz hit a routine floor ball towards first base. Rookie Nolan Schanuel appeared to take a watch off the ball to identify De La Cruz and muffed it as Will Benson and TJ Friedl sped dwelling to attain two unearned runs.
Next, Steer lined a double towards the left-field nook. Running at 30.6 toes per second, De La Cruz scored from first base.
“Pretty cool moment, first time playing here,” Steer mentioned. “Obviously, I grew up coming to this stadium [as an] Angels fan. I’m lucky Elly was running around the bases there. I don’t think many people score on that ball.”
Reds beginning pitcher Graham Ashcraft set a profession excessive with 10 strikeouts over seven innings. Ashcraft gave up three earned runs and 5 hits, together with three solo homers. Back-to-back drives by ex-Reds Brandon Drury and Mike Moustakas within the second and a solo shot by Logan O’Hoppe within the fourth put the membership in a two-run deficit.
The Reds’ two-out rally within the fifth turned a pivotal enhance for Ashcraft, too. He struck out the aspect — together with Trout and Shohei Ohtani — within the backside half of the inning.
“It means a lot to have the guys behind me and put those runs up on the board to kind of give me a little push, ‘Hey, let’s go. You’ve got this,’” Ashcraft mentioned. “It definitely put some pep under my step and allowed me to kind of narrow the [strike] zone back in and start filling it up again.”
Steer wasn’t the one native child who had a second in opposition to his childhood favorites. Matt McLain, who grew up about 10 minutes away from the stadium in Tustin, launched a first-inning dwelling run to right-center discipline in opposition to Angels starter Lucas Giolito.
“That was incredible,” Reds supervisor David Bell mentioned. “I think, for Matt, having all the family and friends here, there’s no question it means more. It’s amazing it happened in the first at-bat.”
As McLain’s homer cleared the fence, loud cheers could possibly be heard amongst his many household and associates in attendance.
“I guess when you hit a homer, you black out. I didn’t hear too much,” mentioned McLain, who additionally performed school baseball for UCLA. “Playing where I came to watch games is really cool.”
McLain, too, was a fan of Trout as a child, and he caught a popup from the Angels’ star within the backside of the primary and fielded his third-inning grounder earlier than touching second base and beginning a double play.
“It was cool to get it off [his] bat,” McLain mentioned.
Both Steer and McLain have put collectively seasons that ought to garner vital NL Rookie of the Year votes.
Steer leads all NL rookies with 29 doubles and 67 RBIs, and his 120 hits are tied for the lead with Arizona’s Corbin Carroll. Meanwhile, he’s batting .268 with an .812 OPS and 18 homers.
McLain, who was known as up on May 15, is batting .295 with an .873 OPS that leads NL rookies, together with 14 homers and 45 RBIs.
“We have young players that, they’re not only stepping in and showing what they can do, they’re helping us win really important games,” Bell mentioned of Steer and McLain. “That just says so much about who they are.”
