Another pitcher has joined the Randy Johnson Club of Hitting Birds With Pitches.
Jon Maciel of the West Michigan Whitecaps became the newest avian murderer in today's game against the Fort Wayne TinCaps. You can't really catch it at normal speed, but the multiple replays show that yep, that's a dead bird.
Maciel didn't appear to throw a fastball, and Johnson's bird killing had a more dramatic explosion, but the result was the same. Dead bird.
One of the broadcasters attempted to stay positive by saying, "And we hope that bird's OK." The optimism was appreciated, but if the splayed bird can be picked up by a groundskeeper, it's probably not OK.
H/t to John Nolan of the TinCaps