The atmosphere at Chase Field in Phoenix was electric on Tuesday night as fans eagerly awaited the highly anticipated match between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks. However, the excitement quickly turned sour as a series of unfortunate events unfolded.
The start of the game was delayed by almost two hours because a group of bees had decided to make their home on top of the backstop netting. Fortunately, beekeeper Matt Hilton was able to intervene and resolve the situation.
Fans were cleared out from the high-priced seats behind home plate. Hilton, dressed in white attire, was then lifted up to the bees. Using a spray, he stunned the pests before vacuuming them up. The fans cheered as he successfully removed the bees.
The Diamondbacks even kept Hilton around to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the game finally began at 8:35 p.m. MT. The game had originally been scheduled for 6:40 p.m., resulting in a delay of one hour and 55 minutes.
The Diamondbacks, who were the defending National League champions, had an unexpectedly late night as they went head to head against this year’s favorites to win it all. In a thrilling game that went into 10 innings, they emerged victorious with a 4-3 score.
Before the scheduled first pitch, it was a batboy who first alerted Arizona manager Torey Lovullo to the presence of the hive.
“It grew twice as large since the first time I laid eyes on it,” Lovullo shared with reporters following the game.
As I gazed upwards, a thought crossed my mind, “Will that pose a challenge?”. And indeed, it did.
Lovullo expressed his gratitude to MLB for prioritizing the safety of players, fans, and everyone present at Chase Field by postponing the game.
According to the player, MLB was responsible for reviewing the incident and subsequently deciding to slow down the footage in order to ensure the safety of the players involved.