Welcome back to the Reds Beat newsletter! Mark Sheldon has covered baseball for MLB.com since 2001, including the Reds since 2006.

CINCINNATI – From Pete Rose to Barry Larkin to Ken Griffey Jr., Ron Oester and Bill Doran, the Reds have had numerous Cincinnati-area natives play for them through the decades. 

Signed during the past offseason, catcher Luke Maile is the latest member of that club within the club. Maile, who is joined by Curt Casali in backing up Tyler Stephenson, grew up in Northern Kentucky and went to Covington Catholic High School in Park Hills, Ky. He's played for Tampa Bay, Toronto, Milwaukee and Cleveland before finally getting to play for his favorite team growing up. 

It's been a strong start with the Reds for Maile, who is batting .286/.348/.548. He has three homers in 21 games, equaling a career high for a season that he's done three previous times. The 32-year-old has also demonstrated leadership on the team. 

"He’s serious, but he’s not quiet. He’s pretty outspoken in a good way on our team," Reds manager David Bell said. "Players have really looked to him. He has become a big part of our team and a big voice for our team."

This week, I spoke to Maile about his time so far with the Reds.

MLB.com: Now that you’ve been doing this here for six weeks, is playing in your hometown what you hoped it would be?

Maile: Yeah. In that respect, it has. I’m a little disappointed with where we are in the win-loss column right now, obviously. But it doesn’t change the fact that it’s an honor to play here. I don’t use that word lightly. It is an honor to play for the Reds. Kind of a pleasant surprise here for me is just seeing the energy that we play with and the preparation of our young guys, especially. That sticks out that they have so much attention to detail. I’ve been impressed with it.

MLB.com: As a kid or coming up in professional baseball, who were some of the Reds players you really admired or liked?

Maile: Barry Larkin is probably the first one I remember. At the time when I was a kid, I played a lot of shortstop. He was the captain. I remember they had a really good team in 1999. They didn’t make it to the playoffs, but they had Greg Vaughn. I always tried to hit like him. [I liked] Sean Casey and then when I started catching, Jason LaRue was the everyday guy. I was watching him play a lot. There’s too many to name. If you gave me a minute, I could probably name every starting lineup on Opening Day.

MLB.com: Has it been a bonus to also have been personally successful so far while playing here this season – both hitting and catching?

Maile: Of course, 100 percent it is. There’s a lot of season left but when you’re on a new team, I don’t know if relief is the right word, but I will say it. It’s a huge relief to get off to a good start. It takes a little bit of pressure off guys. They see what you’re about. They see what you’re capable of and you feel a part of it. It’s absolutely nice to have some personal success at the plate. At the end of the day, nobody really cares unless you win games. That’s the goal. 

I know it’s cliché, but that’s the truth. At this level, you’re not up here to have personal success and then just hold your hat on that. You’ve got to win.

Shortstop prospect Matt McLain has been in the big leagues for just over a week and from his hustle to his speed to his approach, the Reds are already seeing a lot they like. McLain impressed again during Monday's 6-5 win over the Cardinals. In the fourth inning, he dueled pitcher Jordan Montgomery for 13 pitches.   

Even though the sequence ended with a strikeout, it showed something. McLain was down 0-2 and fouled off seven pitches while also working to a full count. 

"Anytime you can take a guy and see all his pitches and stuff like that, it's just a boost of confidence," McLain said.

"When you step away, it’s as successful as a hit or a walk because it’s hard work," Bell said. "It exhausts you having an at-bat like that because you want to be rewarded. When you step back from it, an inning or two later, you can look back and know it did help the team. Seeing all those pitches helps you later, too."

During Tuesday's 8-5 loss to St. Louis, McLain hit his first homer in the big leagues, a two-run drive to right field against Adam Wainwright. 

"First one was good. No other words than it was cool," he said.

Monday's walk-off win over St. Louis came when Nick Senzel hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Spencer Steer in the bottom of the 10th inning. It was Senzel's second walk-off plate appearance this season and third of his career. 

Senzel has shown more maturity this season while enjoying some success in his fifth big league season.

"I was talking with my wife. I wanted to be up there," Senzel said. "I really felt good. I really want to be in those spots and test myself. Nothing better in a tight game like that with a chance to win for your team. That’s growth. That’s what I’m chasing. In those important spots, I want to be the guy."

Center fielder TJ Friedl was activated from the 10-day injured list on Tuesday but something did not come with him as he rejoined the active roster. 

Friedl, who strained his left oblique on May 11, shaved what was still a developing – and seemingly disliked – mustache. 

"Yeah, that's gone," Friedl said. "It was just for the IL. I shaved that off yesterday. I know Spence [Steer] and Curt [Casali] were doing Mustache May and had some good ones going. I was like, 'Let's see what I could get out of 10 or 11 days.' Now it's gone."

May 24, 1965: The Reds played their first indoor game in the franchise's history when they faced the Astros at the Astrodome in Houston. Jim Maloney pitched seven innings in a 5-2 Cincinnati win.

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