Matt McLain

The Reds' Matt McLain hurt his shoulder during practice and will miss the start of the season.

The Reds started camp with a logjam in the infield; that depth is being tested. Moving Jonathan India back to second is a possible solution.

McLain, 23, has been the Reds' best offensive player this season and a lynchpin to the team's success.

This may be the most important week of the season, with three games in San Francisco against the Giants and four at home against the Cubs.

Despite a loss to the Blue Jays, the Reds' future looked incredibly bright — and perhaps even faster — when Marte entered the game.

Elly De La Cruz has been the turbo button for a team that's come out of nowhere to do unexpected, break-neck things nearly every night.

Abbott's 7 2/3 innings was the longest start by any Reds pitcher this year and his 12 strikeouts were a career-high.

Cincinnati is just 1 1/2 games out of first place, and the players are having fun. "We feel it. We're America's Team," Matt McLain said.

Elly De La Cruz was the story in Tuesday's win over the Dodgers, but McClain, India, Steer and Stephenson are writing their own chapters.

"It was amazing," Jonathan India said. "Elly was making his debut and he brought a whole crowd with him."

Matt McLain and Jordan Montgomery engaged in an epic standoff Monday. Afterwards, they went back through each moment of the lengthy at-bat.

"He didn't want to make a big deal about it. He just wanted to go out and play the game," Reds manager David Bell said.

Matt McLain's arrival presages the coming of several other high-end Reds prospects.

Also in the notes: TJ Friedl, bunt-hitting machine; a Double-A no-hitter that went awry.

“The gamble on himself wasn’t about the next three years of his life. It was really about the next 15."