To end the bottom of the first inning of Tuesday’s 7-6 Reds loss to the Royals, center fielder Shogo Akiyama showed why his defensive skills are well respected.

Salvador Perez crushed a drive to deep center field off Luis Castillo. Akiyama made a long trek before completing a nice over-the-shoulder catch on the warning track.

Castillo raised his arms in appreciation as the inning ended. According to Statcast, the exit velocity on Pérez’s liner was 105.6 mph, and it traveled 400 feet. The expected batting average of the hit was .870.

“[Akiyama] positions himself really well,” Reds manager David Bell said on Wednesday. “His attention to all of those types of things, the hitter, situations of the game, and then he gets great jumps. He has plenty of speed to track balls down. His closing speed is really good. I think it’s just the feel and the desire to make plays and tracking the ball. He’s able to finish plays. He just has great body control. He’s just a fundamentally solid outfielder, and it really shows up at all three positions. But it is fun to watch him play center field.”

With the designated hitter in place, and with Bell giving both Jesse Winker and Nick Castellanos rest, Akiyama has been given rare back-to-back starts on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Akiyama made only his 14th start in 45 games this season on Wednesday, including 10 in center field. Between losing his spot because of a Spring Training hamstring injury and the rise of Tyler Naquin in center field while Nick Senzel is out, playing time has been sparse for Akiyama.

“I don’t think Shogo could’ve handled the situation and his role any better than he has,” Bell said. “He’s never done it before. He’s a veteran player who has always played every day. In some ways, I think that’s really difficult to do. He’s just had a great attitude towards helping our team any way he possibly can. He stayed ready. I’m sure it’s not easy for him to accept that, and I don’t think he has accepted it. He wants to play every day.

“But he understands the situation and his at-bats. He’s still the same guy. We’re just not getting to see him as much as we usually do. That’s when all of his abilities, his talents, the ways he can help us win, those are all going to come out more if and when he starts playing a little more on a regular basis.”

Farmer banged up
Reds shortstop Kyle Farmer was not in Wednesday’s lineup for the series finale against the Royals, instead getting a day of rest. Mike Freeman started in his place. Farmer could be getting other breaks during the next series at Milwaukee as well.

Bell revealed that Farmer has been dealing with a lower abdominal strain that doesn’t necessarily prevent him from playing.

“He might not be in the lineup every day between now and the break, but we’ll take it one day at a time,” Bell said. “The more rest he can get, the better. He’s been playing through a lot and playing really well. We’re just trying to take care of him.”

India able to play
Second baseman Jonathan India was back in the lineup on Wednesday after he was pulled in the sixth inning Tuesday because of continued right ankle soreness. India’s ankle was rolled over by the Cubs’ Javier Báez during a stolen base attempt on Sunday, but India has been trying to play through it.

“He told me he was in the lineup last night, so I put him in there,” Bell joked. “We don’t have a lot of activity before the game today, but we’ll make sure. I’ve been reassured that it’s just going to get better each day. It should be better today than it was last night.”