Matt McLain’s mindset entering the final two months of the season

When Matt McLain was coming back from a calf injury in July, the initial plan was for him to go on a rehab assignment that would at least go through the rest of the month. Terry Francona said on July 27, “Get him through the weekend (Aug. 2), and then he’s at the manager’s discretion, which means you can turn him loose. We want him to play a little bit because I think it can be good for him.” The plan looked like it changed over the course of that week. The Reds optioned a struggling Edwin Arroyo on July 30 and activated McLain from the IL. “We obviously missed (McLain’s) defense,” Francona said when the Reds activated McLain last week. “We all want him to hit better, himself included. We don’t want him to try to get it all back in one game. Play the game. Be scrappy.” On Wednesday, in a 3-2 win for the Reds over the Athletics, a solo home run for McLain was the difference in the game. It was a beautiful opposite field swing and a reminder of the potential that’s still in there offensively for McLain. Also, over the last week, McLain’s defensive
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