LOS ANGELES -- Just a few days after the Reds benefited from the Mets submitting the wrong lineup card and batting out of order, the Reds ran into an unusual lineup mishap of their own in Saturday's 6-2 win over the Dodgers.
Interim manager Jim Riggleman intended to send Adam Duvall into the game for left fielder Jesse Winker as part of a double switch, but the wrong player exited the game. Right fielder Scott Schebler assumed he was the player being replaced after he had made the last out in the inning prior, and instead, Winker moved over to right while Duvall took his place in left.
"I just assumed," Schebler said. "I was last out, I saw an outfielder coming out, I looked in the dugout and somebody was waving. I don't know if they were waving at me, so I just kind of assumed."
Schebler came off the field and it wasn't until he got to the visiting clubhouse to change out of his cleats and grab a sweatshirt that someone caught up to him and told him he wasn't supposed to leave the game. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts alerted the officiating crew, who then discussed the issue on the field amongst themselves and with Riggleman.
"Winker was supposed to come off the field, but he went to right field as Schebler ran off, and I didn't even know," Riggleman said. "I didn't know Schebler ran off the field until Dave Roberts alerted the umpire and I realized then, oh boy, we've got a mess here."
Alex Blandino then replaced Winker in right field. His one-out appearance in the outfield was his first as a professional, before he was later moved to short while Jose Peraza, who hadn't ever played in right field but has experience in the big leagues in left and center, took over in right. The mistake resulted in the Reds being forced to bat reliever Amir Garrett in the eighth inning.
"It was a weird deal, I've never really been a part of that before," Schebler said. "I saw the lineup thing with the Mets the other day, so we've had some weird stuff happen the last couple of games."