The Reds/Giants game at Great American Ball Park today was scheduled to start at 12:35 p.m. but a swarm of bees had other plans for the field.
The Reds announced the delay on Twitter with a short video of on-fire Reds player Derek Dietrich lending a hand dressed as an exterminator (or perhaps a Ghostbuster). Even national sports site Deadpsin picked up on the buzz. (Sorry, no more bee puns.)
DIETRICH TO THE RESCUE! pic.twitter.com/eYSqUGxFcD
— Bally Sports Cincinnati (@BallySportsCIN) May 6, 2019
The delay lasted just over 15 minutes. Given the superstitions of some sports teams (like whatever that whole goat/Chicago Cubs thing was all about), the Reds might try to recreate the swarm for future games. The team scored five runs in the first inning, went up 7-1 and, as of this writing, seem on their way to a win, though there are four innings left (and the Giants just scored four runs). The Giants have (very recently) shown they can overcome a big run deficit against the Reds.
UPDATE: The Reds won their bee-delayed game 12-4. Let the daily pre-game, good-luck “Festival of the Bees” tradition begin!