CINCINNATI -- Reds right fielder Scott Schebler was irate with himself and how he performed at the plate on Friday night. During a 5-0 loss to the Nationals, Schebler struck out twice with runners in scoring position. The only thing he could do was make up for it, defensively.
Schebler did that, making a nice running catch at the warning track and notching an outfield assist to throw out a runner at the plate.
"With my at-bats with runners in scoring position, I had to make a way to save some runs, man," Schebler said. "I'm just so frustrated with that right now. I know fans don't think we get frustrated, but we get extremely frustrated with stuff like that. Two at-bats where I could have broke the game open and just didn't."
Schebler has developed as a solid left-handed hitter for the Reds, batting .254/.326/.525 with 22 home runs and 44 RBIs this season. But he's also demonstrated better-than-expected defense on a regular basis, which can only help him solidify his place in the team's future.
With one out in the top of the fourth against Tim Adleman, Brian Goodwin hit a drive to the warning track in right-center field. Schebler made the long trek to the ball and caught it on the run to prevent an extra-base hit.
According to Statcast™, it was a four-star catch as it had a 41-percent catch probability. Schebler had 4.6 seconds to cover 76 feet. He came into the night 4-for-6 on four-star catch chances and 39-for-42 on plays of 1-4 stars (26-95 percent catch probability).
In the fifth inning with runners on first and second base, Schebler charged Matt Wieters' rolling single through the right side and came up throwing quickly as Ryan Zimmerman was waved around third base. His one-hop throw to the plate was perfectly placed to catcher Tucker Barnhart, who tagged out Zimmerman to prevent another run.
It was Schebler's fifth assist of the season.
"He was really good," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "He made a great play going into the right-center gap, full-speed, backhand play, which was outstanding. Certainly the big 9-2 at the plate -- Wieters' base hit off Ariel Hernandez that saved us a run as well. He's been outstanding. Our outfield defense, I can't imagine there being a better outfield defense in the National League. It may not be spectacular -- a lot of people talk about Billy Hamilton -- but the way that Adam Duvall and Schebler play, I think we've got an outstanding starting three."