Joey Votto Angrily Grabs Fan’s Shirt In Reds’ 7-5 Win Over Cardinals After Missed Foul-Ball Catch

Joey Votto was not very pleased with a Cincinnati Reds fan on Tuesday night.

Joey Votto Angrily Grabs Fan’s Shirt

During the seventh inning of his team’s 7-5 home victory over the St. Louis Cardinals, the Reds first baseman ranged over toward the wall in pursuit of a foul ball off the bat of Stephen Piscotty. While leaning in, an overzealous Reds fan also reached up to make the catch and ended up making contact with Votto’s elbow.

Naturally, this threw off Votto’s concentration, and he missed the would-be inning-ending out. Infuriated, Votto gave the fan, who was wearing a Reds jersey, a stare down and then pulled on the team’s logo to remind him which side he was rooting for.

Nevertheless, Votto later felt bad about his reaction and made amends with the fan between innings. The first baseman even inscribed a message on a baseball that said, “Thanks for being so understanding when I acted out of character” and took a selfie with the fan.

“He was generous enough to apologize at the time and afterwards,” Votto said after the game. “In retrospect, he’s not the one who should be apologizing. I should be apologizing. He’s just trying to catch a ball, and here I am bullying him.”

Piscotty struck out later in the at-bat.

The fan gave his name only as Randy, and was at the game with three college-aged kids. He’s been a Reds fan his entire life, and has been to hundreds of games. He always sits in the same seats, which belong to a former work colleague.

“I know to get in the way of an opposing player and let our guys come in the stand to get it,” Randy said. “It’s just obvious. You know that. I just was sitting here not paying much attention and saw the ball come down.”

“I just hope it’s not on SportsCenter or some stupid s– like that,” Randy then added.

Scott Schebler connected on a walk-off three-run big fly to right field to win it for the Reds in the bottom of the ninth.

St. Louis’ wobbly bullpen cracked twice, first allowing the Reds to inch ahead in the seventh and then sending Cincinnati to its sixth walk-off victory of the season.

The Reds, who had earlier gained a lead thanks to homers from Tucker Barnhart in the fifth and Adam Duvall in the seventh, followed a blown scoring opportunity in the eighth by getting to Cardinals closer Seung Hwan Oh in the ninth. Leadoff singles by Votto- who had four hits– and Duvall set up Schebler’s high shot into the right-field seats. Schebler had been recalled from Triple-A Louisville earlier in the day.

“That was something, man, especially after having the bases loaded, nobody out and the same pitcher getting the big strikeout and the double play to end the [eighth] inning,” Reds’ manager Bryan Price said. “That kid’s been, Oh has been sensational. He’s really been good.”

An inning earlier, Cincinnati had loaded the bases with no outs before seeing that opportunity die as Oh earned a strikeout of Billy Hamilton and induced an inning-ending double play.

Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright, who labored for five innings on the mound, connected for the first of the Cardinals’ four home runs. Jedd Gyorko delivered a go-ahead homer in the seventh, Brandon Moss a game-tying homer in the eighth, and then Tommy Pham, with a pinch-hit homer, pushed the Cardinals back in front again.

The two teams will next face off for the second game of their three-game series on Wednesday night at Great American Ball Park. Right-hander Michael Wacha will start for the Cardinals (56-50, 2nd in NL Central), seeking his fifth straight win. Left-hander Cody Reed will start for the Reds (43-62, 5th in NL Central). Since his seven-inning Major League debut, Reed has had one quality start and is coming off of a six-run (five earned), five-inning performance against the Giants.

CINCINNATI, OH – AUGUST 02: Joey Votto #19 of the Cincinnati Reds hits a double to drive a run in the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Great American Ball Park on August 2, 2016 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)