ANAHEIM -- In the same right field normally occupied by 2015 Gold Glove Award winner Kole Calhoun, it was Shane Robinson who made a show-stopping defensive play during the Angels' 7-0 win over the Nationals on Wednesday night at Angel Stadium.
Fresh off a callup from Triple-A Salt Lake hours prior to first pitch, Robinson made the most of his chance filling in for Calhoun on a rare day off by making one of the most difficult catches in the Major Leagues this season.
In the top of the first inning, Daniel Murphy lined a 1-2 curveball off Angels starter Alex Meyer toward the corner in right field, and the speedy Robinson gave chase.
"I kind of took a couple of steps to my left before the pitch, and got a pretty good jump of it off the bat," Robinson said. "I just saw it in the air, and it felt like I had a chance at it the whole time, and just kept going through with it."
Robinson had just a 7 percent catch probability, according to Statcast™ -- tied for the fourth-lowest among plays made that required the fielder to travel at least 50 feet. He had just 3.7 seconds to track 66 feet before diving and fully extending to record the out with a five-star catch.
"Usually on plays like that, I just try to focus and just kind of slow things down as kind of like a controlled max effort," Roberts said. "You go all out, but you mentally try to slow things down at the same time. I was just fortunate I could make that catch for Alex."
Meyer was highly appreciative of the effort, which allowed him to carry a no-hit bid into the sixth inning.
"Shane's catch was one of the best catches I've ever seen," Meyer said.
Added Angels manager Mike Scioscia: "That's huge. For him to make that catch, it kills the inning and gives us a chance to get some offense going."