Phillies-Orioles Game Interrupted By Strange Distractions

There were multiple unusual interruptions during Sunday's clash between the Philadelphia Phillies and Baltimore Orioles.

Jun 16, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm (28) runs out an RBI double. / Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

Most baseball games give fans a break in the seventh inning to get out of their seats and stretch, but this one was different.

The Philadelphia Phillies were down big against the Baltimore Orioles in Sunday's series finale at Camden Yards. The Phillies were trailing 8-2 in the top of the seventh with one out and nobody on. Orioles reliever Cionel Perez had an 0-2 count on Nick Castellanos and appeared ready to finish off the slumping veteran.

Then, all of a sudden, an F-35 Lightning fighter jet unexpectedly soared over the field, causing quite the spectacle. Frustrated home plate umpire Mike Estabrook briefly stopped the game until the plane disappeared from view, at which point he allowed play to continue.

A fighter jet keeps interrupting the Phillies/Orioles game in Baltimore and it’s the funniest thing ever. The ump would like to throw out the fighter pilot #phillies #orioles #baseball #fathersday pic.twitter.com/Mqp5fetyKM

— Adam Tuss (@AdamTuss) June 16, 2024

Perez whiffed Castellanos, but the interruption seemed to jolt him out of his groove.

He surrendered back-to-back doubles to Bryce Harper and Alec Bohm before getting Bryson Stott to ground out to end the frame.

That proved to be Philadelphia's last gasp in its frustrating 8-3 loss to Baltimore as the Phillies lost their second series in a row -- only the third time all season that they've lost back-to-back series.

The seventh-inning halt was just one of several plane-induced stoppages during the game.

While flyovers are not unusual at baseball games, they typically only happen on special occasions like Opening Day, national holidays and playoff games. Furthermore, they always take place during a pre-game ceremony, typically during the national anthem before the first pitch.

These jets were not associated with Sunday's baseball game, however, as they were part of Baltimore's Fleet Week air shows and merely happened to be flying over the city.

Despite losing four of its last five games, Philadelphia still has the best record in the NL at 47-24.

The Phillies will look to bounce back on Monday against the San Diego Padres at home, where Philadelphia is 27-10 (.730 winning percentage) with a plus-66 run differential this year.