For the bird: Cincinnati Reds' Joey Votto hits unique grand slam

A bird was the word for the Cincinnati Reds in the third inning Tuesday at Great American Ball Park.

With the bases loaded and no outs, Joey Votto came to the plate only to be distracted by a black bird watching him hit from steps in front of home plate. He took two steps toward the pitcher’s mound to shoo it away, and it moved behind the mound. Two pitches later, Votto hit a grand slam to give the Reds a 4-0 lead against the Detroit Tigers.

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As Votto approached home plate, he flapped his arms. It was Votto’s first home run since May 13. He hadn’t hit a home run in 30 games.

Votto appeared in his 1,500th game Sunday in Pittsburgh. He's part of an infield that leads baseball in combined batting average (.288) and on-base percentage (.362).

This bird had a front-row seat to Joey Votto’s grand slam. It was so close to the plate Votto shooed it away. It moved behind the pitcher’s mound. pic.twitter.com/9FkqGpMOEf
— David Jablonski (@DavidPJablonski) June 20, 2018