A Tuesday night matchup between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks got some added buzz when a swarm of bees formed atop the netting right behind home plate at Chase Field and ultimately delayed the scheduled 6:40 p.m. PST start time.
The colony formed around 15 minutes before the game was slated to begin, and as of 8 p.m. PST the game remained paused until a beekeeper can arrive to remove the swarm.
Tonight’s Dodgers/Diamondbacks game has been delayed due to…
[checks notes]
Bees. A lot of them. 🐝 pic.twitter.com/ETctRRd6rD
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) May 1, 2024
Though the reason for the delay is definitely unusual, it isn’t the first time a Major League Baseball game was interrupted by bees. A similar sticky situation unfolded in May 2019 when a game between the Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants was delayed for 18 minutes due to a bee swarm. A month later, the same thing happened during a San Diego Padres–Miami Marlins matchup, which was paused for 28 minutes.
GO DEEPER
Buzz-worthy: How a bee swarm was corralled so the Reds could play
This series between the Dodgers and Diamondbacks began with Los Angeles’ winning in quirky fashion, as the Dodgers’ hitters went the full game without striking out en route to an 8-4 victory, and it seems that was just the beginning of an un-bee-lievable trip to Arizona.
Required reading
- What we’ve learned about the LA Dodgers after 30 games: 3 takeaways
- 3 takeaways for the Dodgers: Here are the numbers that matter most
(Photo: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
