A few minutes after 7:30 p.m., three hours after Saturday’s game against the New York Mets was delayed by rain, Washington Nationals manager Dave Martinez walked out of the dugout for the second time in an hour.
Saturday’s game was suspended at 4:43 p.m. After much effort to prepare the field, the game was officially called at 8:39. Fans grew restless as the night progressed. And following a nearly four-hour delay, when they received minimal updates, they cheered as the ad flashed on the big screen. Saturday’s game resumes at 12.35pm on Sunday before the second game kicks off at 4.35pm.
Washington will nominate right-hander Joan Addon for the team’s 27th doubleheader. Jake Irvin will start the program in the second game. New York had runners on second and third in the third inning coming to the plate in the top of the order when the play was called.
“When we first went out there, it definitely wasn’t playable,” Martinez said. “We went, and they threw a lot of stuff at him, and we still thought he couldn’t play. It was better but unplayable. between me [crew chief] Paul [Emmel] And Buck, we’re committed to keeping our players safe. We thought it was the right decision.
It didn’t rain a few minutes before the first pitch. Martinez said the forecast calls for light rain, but nothing too heavy. Trevor Williams warmed up in the rain and bowled a clean first. The nationals came out firing under the frame. Lane Thomas singled, Luis Garcia drove in, and Joey Meneses knocked in Thomas with a single. Washington eventually loaded the bases but was unable to score another run.
As the game progressed, the rain got heavier. In the third inning, Garcia stood on second base with puddles forming around him. And the game stopped when Michael Perez hit two to center field on a fly ball that Alex made to slide as he tried to follow up on a call.
The decision to play that long may have left the playing field in an unsalvageable condition after the rain stopped. Williams remained in the Nationals’ bullpen during the layoff. He sat out 20 minutes between innings to make it look like a live game.
Just before 7 p.m., the fans started cheering as they believed the game would resume after the tarp was removed. The sky was clear. But the two managers didn’t like the way the pitch felt when they first stepped onto the pitch. After some work was done by campus staff, the situation improved but not enough to continue.
At one point, fans chanted “Let’s Play Baseball” as they waited in the concourse and in their seats. But there would be no Saturday night baseball.
“I’m going to sit here and apologize to my fans because it took a while,” Martinez said. But we want to make sure we get it right. That we gave them a chance to prepare the field. We didn’t feel it was safe for the players.”
Henry, a 2020 second-round pick, will begin his rehab Tuesday in Fredericksburg. It will be his first start since being shut down a season ago, eventually leading to surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in August.
Henry started at Class AA Harrisburg last season and had a 0.76 ERA in seven starts, leading to a promotion to Class AAA Rochester. He played two games there before the end of the season. Henry managed to get the team back on track this season.