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After approximately four hours of waiting due to a rain delay, MLB has suspended the Mets-Nationals game on Saturday. The game will be made up as part of a split doubleheader on Sunday.
The continuation of Game 1, which was in the top of the third inning with New York down 1-0 but with runners on second and third with one out and Brandon Nimmo due at the plate, will start at 12:35 p.m., followed by Game 2 at 4:35 p.m.
Asked if the field was unplayable, even after four hours, manager Buck Showalter said that it was. He also thanked the grounds crew for doing its best to try and make the field game-ready.
“Yes. Yeah it was. Believe me, we all wanted to play. Obviously nobody wants to play a split doubleheader,” he said.
It’s still unclear who will pitch the rest of Game 1, a game that Joey Lucchesi started, allowing one earned run in two innings. However, Showalter said that Max Scherzer will start Game 2. It will be Scherzer’s first start since May 3.
As for how the delay and ultimate suspension was handled, SNY play-by-play announcer Gary Cohen did not sound pleased at the resolution and was surprised about the decision to make Sunday’s games a split doubleheader.
“That is unprecedented to have the completion of a suspended game part of a split doubleheader,” Cohen said.
He added: “It’s really a shameful episode on the part of Major League Baseball to permit this to happen, and then to come to this kind of resolution to charge fans twice tomorrow rather than play straight through with the completion of the suspended game.”
