- The Washington Times - Monday, May 6, 2019

The Cincinnati Reds had to delay the start of their game Monday afternoon at Great American Ball Park. No, it wasn’t rain. It was bees.

The home plate umpire told Fox Sports Ohio that the bees were buzzing around the dugouts and home plate.

Reds second baseman Derek Dietrich was brave enough to head out to the field, pretending to be a bee exterminator:

The game finally got started after an 18-minute bee delay, reporters on the scene said.

Perhaps the most amazing thing about the debacle is the Reds came out and hung five runs on the San Francisco Giants in the first inning.

It’s the latest addition to a long history of bees affecting MLB games, both in spring training and in the middle of regular-season games. The most famous example was a Rockies-Padres game in 2017, when players on the field had to hit the ground for cover.

• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.

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