ST. LOUIS -- Reds manager Bryan Price left Scott Schebler and Brandon Phillips out of Wednesday's lineup as a precaution after both left Tuesday night's win over the Cardinals in the seventh inning. Schebler is dealing with calf tightness, while Price characterized Phillips' injury as a "small quad strain." Schebler took batting practice, but Phillips didn't get in the cage Wednesday before the Reds' 3-2 loss.
"I think with the day off tomorrow, that will bode well for the series in Milwaukee, and we'll see what kind of use they have," Price said.
Wednesday will be the first time Schebler hasn't started since he was called up from Triple-A Louisville on Aug. 2 after he was named International League Player of the Month in July.
He was hit by a pitch from Mike Leake in the fourth inning, which he said was the reason the calf began to hurt, but still stole second base and came around to score.
"I was fine as I kept moving, and then I came in after I scored and I sat down for a second," Schebler said. "When I got back up, it kind of just grabbed, kind of like a mini cramp, you could say."
He also likened the issue to having a consistent charley horse. Schebler popped out to second baseman Matt Carpenter in the sixth inning before he was removed. The training staff massaged his leg after the game and recommended he try and stay active so it wouldn't tighten up again.
"I tried to battle through it for the next inning and it wouldn't loosen up," Schebler said. "This morning it's tight again. I think the reason it's so bad is because it was my back leg and my foot is in the ground."
Leake also hit Schebler with a pitch on Aug. 4.
"The last one was my fault," Schebler said. "It cut more than I thought it was going to, but with two strikes I have a hard time getting out of the way. If it's two strikes I'm going to take it. I'm going to go to first."
Since he collected five hits in his first three games, the right fielder is 0-for-17 with eight strikeouts.
"You're not always going to be hitting, so you've got to find ways to stay in the lineup, stealing bases, score a run," Schebler said. "My bat will come along, it will, it's just one of those streaks right now that's kind of tough."