Elly De La Cruz helps bird to safety, then homers for Reds
The Cincinnati shortstop assisted a bird struggling to leave the field during the fourth inning before hitting a home run against Milwaukee.
Cincinnati Reds player Elly De La Cruz helped a bird struggling to leave the field during the fourth inning of the team’s series-concluding win over the Milwaukee Brewers at Great American Ball Park.
De La Cruz carried the bird to safety before hitting a home run in the bottom half of the same inning. The game’s score and details of the home run were not reported.
Yahoo Sports reported that the Reds and Major League Baseball shared video of the incident on social media. The bird’s species, condition and later whereabouts were not confirmed.
Reds manager Terry Francona said: “How about that? He does it all.”
The Reds described De La Cruz as a “full-time baseball player, part-time bird whisperer” and later posted “Bye bye birdie” after his home run.
