Astros-Padres game delayed by bees in outfield

SAN DIEGO — Talk about adding a late-inning buzz to a ballgame.

Thursday’s game between the Houston Astros and San Diego Padres was delayed for 52 minutes in the top of the ninth inning Thursday when a swarm of bees took over part of left field at Petco Park.

A beekeeper was called the downtown ballpark and sprayed a chair and a ballgirl’s jacket that had attracted the bees.

“The umpires made the right call to stop the game,” Padres president Tom Garfinkel said. “There’s a couple thousand bees there. If they decide to swarm on a person, whether that’s a person, an employer or a fan, we could have a real situation.”

The game was halted at 3:09 p.m. The beekeeper arrived at 3:56 p.m. and the game resumed five minutes later.

After Joe Thatcher’s first pitch to Miguel Tejada with two outs in the ninth, Padres left fielder Kyle Blanks began walking in toward the infield. Second base umpire Mike Reilly walked toward left field to see what was going on.

Within minutes, the rest of the players left the field.

The swarm first appeared along the warning track. Later, fans were cleared out of several sections down the left-field line.

Houston led 6-1 at the time.

Garfinkel said head groundskeeper Luke Yoder had the beekeeper on his speed dial.