Jul 2, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals center fielder Jacob Young (30) scales the centerfield wall to rob Detroit Tigers left fielder Riley Greene (31) of a home run during the ninth inning at Nationals Park. Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

Watch: Nationals' Jacob Young Has Catch of the Year in Shutout Loss to Reds

Originally posted on Washington Nationals on SI
By Kenneth Teape | Last updated Jul 23, 2025 7:00 PM ET

The Washington Nationals haven’t given their fans much to get excited about recently with the losses continuing to pile up at a rapid rate.

They did enter Wednesday’s game against the Cinncinati Reds riding a modest two-game winning streak and having won three out of their last four contests.

Unfortunately, that streak came to an end, with the Reds coming away victorious by a score of 5-0.

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However, that score would have been much worse had it not been for the incredible range of center fielder Jacob Young.

In the top of the eighth inning with two outs, Reds slugger Will Benson took a pitch from Jackson Rutledge to deep center field.

Young timed his steps perfectly and climbed the wall to rob Benson of what would have been his ninth home run of the season with one of the best catches any one will see this year.

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MUST SEE: JACOB YOUNG SCALES THE WALL TO BRING THIS ONE BACK! pic.twitter.com/6UjvH4JXDD
— MLB (@MLB) July 23, 2025

Still trying to find his way with the bat, the Nationals can at least count on their starting center fielder to provide the team with incredible value with his glove.

There aren’t many better defensive players in the MLB than Young, who entered play on July 23 with a Fielding Run Value of plus-9, which is in the 95th percentile in baseball.

His outs above average is plus-8, which is in the 97th percentile.

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While his defensive play gave the fans something to cheer about, it was another underwhelming afternoon in the nation’s capital.

The team’s offense has been struggling to consistently produce, with Nick Lodolo twirling a gem with a complete game shutout while allowing only four hits without walking a single batter and striking out eight.

As shared by Mark Zuckerman of MASN, there have been 10 complete game shutouts by a starting pitcher this season; three of them have come at the expense of Washington.

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This article first appeared on Washington Nationals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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