Votto ‘glad to be back’ one day after missing doubleheader

This was the first time the Reds played in front of photo cutouts bought for $75 each by Reds fans. They were placed in the rows behind the dugouts on each side of the field.

Catcher Tucker Barnhart said he ordered cutouts of his wife and two young boys, but they had not been installed in time for the opener of the Ohio Cup. Other players have done the same.

Votto didn’t know the background of how the cutouts came to be. When informed after the game that the money benefits the Reds Community Fund, he said, “Oh, tremendous. So how about I buy an entire section, and it’s just my face: 100 pictures of me. Is that a good idea? Would that be weird?”

Votto made those jokes — if he truly was joking — because he was in a good mood following a 3-2 victory against the Indians in the opener of a four-game series. His go-ahead, two-run home run in the sixth proved to be the game-winning hit as the Reds overcame a 2-0 deficit and won their third in a row, reaching .500 (5-5) for the first time in the 60-game season.

“We want to win,” Votto said. “We play to win. We’ve go to prove to ourselves we’re a talented, capable team that can win the close games.”

The victory meant even more for Votto because of his experience a day earlier. He missed the doubleheader Sunday in Detroit. He explained what happened, first joking that he was suffering from “Tik Tok withdrawl,” a reference to President Donald Trump’s desire to ban the app, and then revealing that he woke up sick, perhaps because of a meal he ate the night before.

“We had a noon game, and with a noon game, we’re trying to get there several hours before,” Votto said. “There was a lot of stuff going on. I had very little time to be able to feel out how I was feeling in the morning. I wasn’t feeling perfect when I woke up. I informed the team and then went back to sleep and felt so much better.”

Votto said he knew within an hour of waking up that he could have played, but it was too late by then. The Reds put him on the injured list. Throughout baseball, teams are being very cautious about illnesses because of the risk of COVID-19.

“Today and yesterday, I go through the negative tests,” Votto said. “I’m glad to be back.”