It's a REALLY bad time to be a bird at an MLB ballpark these days ... because for the second time in less than a week, one was killed in the field of play.
The latest fowl situation happened during the second inning of the Guardians' game against the White Sox in Cleveland on Monday night ... when Will Brennan was up at the plate.
You can see in video of his at-bat ... after he cracked a ball to the left side of the infield, the baseball accidentally landed right on top of a bird -- before it skidded into the outfield for a base hit.
Guardians Will Brennan appears to have killed a bird sitting on the infield grass on a base hit, tough week for baseball and our winged friends pic.twitter.com/Oj8FA66T9i
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) May 22, 2023
Sadly, the bird died from the impact ... and it didn't take long for players around the diamond to realize what had just happened.
Check out the broadcast footage -- all of the guys had stunned looks on their faces ... as a member of Cleveland's grounds crew came out to scoop up the dead bird with a shovel.
— Follow @BarnHasSpoken2 (@Baseball8754021) May 22, 2023
Once the infield was cleared of the carcass, the game resumed ... and Cleveland ended up winning, 3-0.
But, Brennan's victory celebration was muted ... 'cause afterward, he took to Twitter to apologize for the play.
"I truly am sorry @peta and bird enthusiasts," the outfielder wrote. "An unfortunate sacrifice."
Unfortunately, this was the second time in five days that a bird lost its life on the field ... you'll recall, Arizona Diamondbacks star Zac Gallen killed one with a warmup pitch in Oakland on May 17.
RIP, winged friends.