History might one day reflect that June 1, 2026, was a momentous occasion in Cincinnati Reds history, but it won’t be because of the result of the game they played that day.
Highly-rated prospect Edwin Arroyo made his MLB and Reds debut Monday at Great American Ball Park. As a strong sign of the defensive versatility the organization encouraged the career shortstop to pursue, Arroyo started at second base against the Kansas City Royals.
His growth beyond his preferred shortstop position was evident. In the second inning, Arroyo made an acrobatic, sliding stop to throw out Nick Loftin. At the plate, Arroyo struck out in his first three at-bats. He left a runner in scoring position on the first two occasions.
In his fourth and final at-bat in the ninth inning, he rapped a two-out single into right field, which brought Reds players to the top step of the dugout for a salute to their new teammate. As is baseball tradition, the ball Arroyo hit was removed from play and sent to the Reds dugout as a keepsake for the player.
When Matt McLain doubled down the left field line in the next at-bat, Arroyo had a chance to show off his explosive speed, and scored from first base without any threat of being thrown out.
Arroyo’s appearance in the game capped a whirlwind day that started with his Triple-A manager in Louisville, Pat Kelly, calling to inform him of the call-up around 10:30 a.m. Then, Arroyo went from packing for a road trip to Memphis with the Louisville Bats to packing for Cincinnati’s three-game home series with the Royals, which will be followed by a six-game road trip in St. Louis and San Diego.
Arroyo arrived to Great American Ball Park for his debut after 2 p.m., was the focus of a pregame news conference that started around 2:45 p.m., and then shook hands with well-wishers and got acclimated to his new clubhouse.
The rest of the Reds had something of a whirlwind day, too. It wasn’t nearly as pleasant or memorable as the day was for Arroyo, and it ended with an 9-2 loss to Kansas City, dropping the Reds to 30-29 on the year and 1-3 on their current homestand.
Elly De La Cruz’s morning MRI to examine the tight hamstring that forced him out of the May 31 game against the Atlanta Braves resulted in the conclusion that the hamstring was strained. De La Cruz went on the 10-day injured list, and is projected to miss two-to-four weeks. His streak of 276 consecutive games played ended.
“It’s absolutely nothing bad right now,” De La Cruz said via team interpreter and athletic trainer Tomas Vera. “It’s not really as bad as people think it is. It’s just that we have to be smart and we’re just going to take a little time for that.
“Realistically, yes, I thought this was tight, there was nothing bad with this. This (MRI) was gonna come back OK and then two or three days, I was gonna come back but no, this was not like that.”
Separate from De La Cruz, scheduled Reds starting pitcher Chase Burns was scratched from the game due to an illness. Burns is tentatively scheduled to pitch Wednesday’s series finale between the Reds and Royals, but reliever Lyon Richardson was forced to start the series opener.
In the first inning, Lane Thomas hit a grand slam off the facing of the upper deck off Richardson, who walked two batters and hit another to load the bases.
J.J. Bleday hit his 10th home run of the year in the bottom of the first inning. Perhaps a comeback was on for the hosts?
Perhaps not. Bleday’s hit was one of six in the game for Cincinnati. The Royals rattled off 13 hits and three were homers.
Jac Caglianone added a two-run homer in the fifth inning. Second baseman Michael Massey also homered. Both long balls came off 33-year-old pitcher, Brandon Leibrandt, who was called up from Louisville June 1 to provide length for Cincinnati.
Leibrandt, pitching in the big leagues for the first time since 2024, conceded five runs on 10 hits and three walks over six innings. He entered the game in the fourth inning after Richardson and Caleb Ferguson took the Reds through three innings.
Cincinnati will attempt to even the series Tuesday, June 2, when Andrew Abbott (4-3, 3.88 ERA) is scheduled to face Kansas City’s Noah Cameron (2-4, 4.61 ERA).
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Reds lose big to Kansas City as Edwin Arroyo makes his MLB debut
Reporting by Pat Brennan, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
