Dodgers, Diamondbacks Delayed for Weirdest Reason You'll Ever See

Tuesday night's Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Arizona Diamondbacks game entered a pretty unique delay.

No, it wasn't a rain delay. No, it wasn't a weather delay. It was a bee delay.

A swarm of bees took over the netting behind home plate at Chase Field, delaying the start of the second game of the series between the Dodgers and Diamondbacks.

Here's a video of the bees, via Dodgers Nation on X:

Chase Field is an indoor stadium with a retractable roof. It's unclear how the bees got in, but it was very clear that it was going to be difficult to get them out. The swarm of bees began forming about 10 minutes before first pitch.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts spoke with Kirsten Watson of SportsNet LA shortly after the delay began, saying the umpires were in contact with MLB to figure out a solution to this issue. It was clear the two teams wouldn't start playing until the bees were removed.

"This is a tough one," Roberts said. "Right now, we're just trying to figure out the situation where, obviously we see the bees, how long will it take a beekeeper to come to take care of the situation? And then kind of weighing out the potential harm it might cause."

What could that harm be?

"Obviously it's on the screen, the top of the netting," Roberts said. "So if a foul ball hits the screen, what happens to the bees at that point in time? It's sort of like an unknown right now."

The game ended up officially entering a delay, as Major League Baseball decided to halt the game until a beekeeper could arrive on scene and take care of the situation.

As of this writing, a beekeeper is yet to arrive, and the game remains delayed without a timeline to start.

This isn't the first bee-related delay in MLB. It isn't even the first bee-related delay for a player on that field.

Back in 2019, a Miami Marlins vs. San Diego Padres game was delayed for 28 minutes due to a swarm of bees. This delay took place in the middle of the game, though, while the Dodgers and Diamondbacks hadn't yet started playing.

Current Dodgers infielder Miguel Rojas was on the Marlins during that delay. He's now experienced two bee-related delays in a five-year span. Rojas was set to play second base and bat eighth in the Dodgers' lineup on Tuesday night.

As of 7:40 p.m. PT, an hour after the contest's first pitch was supposed to happen, there was no beekeeper in sight at Chase Field. Thus, the game remained in a delay, in a truly un-bee-lievable scene.