"I thought it was really embarrassing," Votto said. "It wasn't that I did anything to justify being embarrassed, it was just I don't like to come out in the middle of a game out of respect to my teammates."

That was Tuesday, May 12, in the fourth inning of the Reds' 3-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks, and even though a parade of doctors checked him after the game and discovered nothing terribly wrong, Votto was not in Wednesday's lineup and said, "I still feel a little off.

"I still don't feel right and I don't want to go through the same thing again," Votto said. "It was pretty intense at the time. The doctors thought it was remnants of the flu coming back and the heat."

It was 98 degrees in the open-roofed stadium when play began and amazingly Votto nearly homered both times up before he left - a drive that was caught at the left-field fence in the first and a 410-foot crusher in the top of the fourth that was caught in front of the 413 sign.

Then in the bottom of the fourth, Arizona pitcher Dan Haren tried to bunt.

"I charged in, thinking about fielding it quickly and possibly turning a double play," Votto said. "I felt a little off then. And before my last at-bat I felt my heart racing and felt a little odd. After I flew out and went back out on the field I couldn't center myself.

"It took way too long to recover after it happened and that was my concern. I didn't feel regular until an hour or an hour-and-ahalf after it happened.

"It wasn't dehydration," he said. "I do my best to eat right and put a lot of fluids in me because I realize how hot and dry it is here," he said. "It was definitely flu-related."

So Votto and his .374 average were on the bench for the Arizona finale. The Reds are off today and open a three-game series in San Diego on Friday and Votto intends to play.

"I would hope the off day and the cooler weather will help," he said.