June 3 (UPI) -- Beekeepers were beckoned to the ball park once again, with swarms of the stinging insects delaying the Miami Marlins and San Diego Padres series finale at Petco Park in San Diego.
Hundreds of bees piled onto game-action microphones behind home plate during the early innings of the Marlins' 9-3 win Sunday. The insects forced fans to leave their seats in the area and both teams stopped playing in the bottom of the third inning as the situation escalated.
Security guards and grounds crew members assessed the situation. Players were mostly calm during the sequence. Padres catcher Austin Hedges put on a Deadpool mask and a hooded sweatshirt, while carrying two baseball bats, to protect himself from potential stings.
An exterminator eventually emerged, wearing a beekeeping suit. He climbed a latter and sprayed the bees. He also used a vacuum cleaner to remove the dead insects.
The Padres and Marlins used their Twitter accounts to have some fun during the 28-minute delay.
"According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly," the Padres tweeted. "Its wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground.The bee, of course, flies anyway, because bees don't care what humans think is impossible."
This is far from the first time bees have caused issues at a baseball game. The insects caused a 20-minute delay during a Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants game in March at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. Bees also caused a stir during a Los Angeles Angels and Texas Rangers game in April in Anaheim, Calif.
"That was the first I've ever seen that," Marlins starter Trevor Richards told reporters. "I just went in and sat down for a little bit. They told me it would be at least 10 minutes to wait for the guy to come. I kinda just took it as another break for an inning."
"I saw the runner at first was kinda squatting, so I thought he was hurt. Then I looked over and saw the swarm of bees. I walked toward the outfield, but then the bees were coming that way."
Richards allowed just one hit and had eight strikeouts in five shoutout innings for the Marlins.
The Marlins face the Milwaukee Brewers at 7:40 p.m. on Tuesday at Miller Park in Milwaukee. The Padres host the Philadelphia Phillies at 10:10 p.m. on Monday at Petco Park.
