Sunday’s game at Great American Ball Park featured one of the most unusual moments of the Major League Baseball season when Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz briefly stopped play to remove a small bird that had landed on the field during the matchup against the Milwaukee Brewers.
The bird appeared disoriented and remained near the foul line in foul territory without flying away, prompting players from both teams to hold off on resuming play to avoid putting the animal at risk.
De La Cruz quickly reacted from the home dugout, stepped onto the field and carefully caught the bird as fans watched. He then removed it from the playing area, allowing the game to continue.
The unusual incident came during a strong start for Cincinnati’s offense. The Reds took an early lead with an RBI single by Tyler Stephenson in the first inning, followed by a fielder’s choice from De La Cruz, a sacrifice fly by Sal Stewart in the second and an RBI double by Dominican Juan Brito in the third.
De La Cruz also entered Sunday’s game as one of Cincinnati’s key offensive players. Through his first 123 games of the season, he had a .840 OPS, 22 home runs and 24 stolen bases, according to the information provided in the source.
