Reds reliever Lucas Sims was on the mound when heavy rain and sleet set in at Great American Ball Park on Tuesday night.
Sims apparently thought the umpires were a little slow to delay the game on account of the freezing downpour -- so he took matters into his own hands.
The right-hander essentially refused to pitch between the raindrops, cycling through several new balls from the home-plate umpire in an apparent bid to stall the game.
It seemed to work, as the umpires' crew chief, Jerry Meals, apparently got the drift and temporarily called off the game.
The foul weather did not subside enough to allow for play to resume on Tuesday, so the game was suspended and resumed on Wednesday afternoon, with the Diamondbacks emerging victorious from the relatively unusual scenario.
Sims, speaking to reporters on Wednesday, said safety was his main concern when he was on the hill on Tuesday night, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.
“Every single one of them was soaking wet,” he said. “There was no reason we should have been playing. I thought for safety reasons there was no way I was going to throw any of those baseballs."
Sims plunked Arizona pinch-hitter Wyatt Mathisen during his outing, which he attributed directly to the slick conditions.
“There were a lot of safety issues. I was concerned about me slipping or something going wrong with the ball. And also my competitors too. If I have no clue where the freaking ball is going -- I don’t know the last time I hit a right-hander with a slider.”
Sims, who turns 26 next month, is in his fifth season in the big leagues.
He had just walked in the go-ahead run when he decided it was time to get off the field, and was insistent that his stall tactic wasn't an excuse for his poor outing.
“I would own up if I just (struggled), but ain’t nobody going to do their job very well in the rain and puddles and all that,” Sims said.