Baseball

Bee-lieve: Walker’s Homer in 10th Lifts Diamondbacks over Dodgers 4-3 after Delay for Bee Swarm

AP Photo/Matt York
Bee keeper Matt Hilton throws out the ceremonial first pitch prior to a baseball game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in Phoenix. Hilton removed a swarm of bees on the net behind home plate that delayed the start of the game.

1:00 JST, May 2, 2024

PHOENIX (AP) — Christian Walker homered twice, including a two-run drive in the 10th inning that gave the Arizona Diamondbacks a bee-delayed 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night.

A bee swarm atop the netting behind home plate caused a delay of nearly two hours as players and fans waited for a beekeeper to remove the colony. Players tried to keep busy in the indoor batting cage and clubhouse to kill time while they waited for the bees to be removed.

AP Photo/Matt York
A bee keeper removes a swarm of bees gathered on the net behind home plate delaying the start of a baseball game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in Phoenix.

“It was weird, but props to the guys for shutting it down and then getting it back on and being ready to play,” Walker said.

The activity in the game didn’t pick up until late.

Gabriel Moreno hit a tying single for Arizona in the eighth, but Los Angeles reliever Nabil Crismatt (1-1) worked a perfect ninth to send it to extra innings.

The Dodgers loaded the bases against Scott McGough (1-3) in the 10th, and Will Smith drove in Gavin Lux with a sacrifice fly for a one-run lead.

Walker at first was going to go up looking to try to move the automatic runner from second to third, but Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo told him to end the game instead. Walker wasted no more time buzzing around, launching Crismatt’s third pitch of the 10th into the left-field seats to set off a wild celebration at Chase Field.

“That was a little bit of edge that I needed, otherwise maybe trying to use the middle of the field, move a runner to third base right there,” Walker said. “I think that a little bit of freedom and forgiveness helped me.”

The Diamondbacks opted to switch gears after the long wait, sending out left-hander Brandon Hughes instead of scheduled starter Jordan Montgomery, who had gone through his full warmup before the delay was announced.

Los Angeles stuck with Landon Knack and he gave up a solo homer to Walker in the fourth — the only run the right-hander allowed on three hits in five innings.

The Dodgers loaded the bases against Justin Martinez in the fifth and tied the game on Joe Mantiply’s wild pitch. A balk by Mantiply scored Smith from third to make it 2-1 in the sixth.

But the Diamondbacks rallied late, earning a much-needed win on a bizarre night at the ballpark.

“One of my buddies texted me a Google screenshot of honeybees and how they’re a sign of good luck from ancient times,” Hughes said after making his first career start in his Arizona debut. “And it was actually like a little bit deeper, how they use teamwork and cooperation. I mean, that was a a full team win right there.”