CLEVELAND — Heavy rain and a wet field forced the postponement of Tuesday night’s game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Cleveland Guardians, who will bounce back as part of a traditional doubleheader on Wednesday.
The first game will start at 1:10 p.m.
With thousands of fans inside Progressive Field, Guardians coach Stephen Vogt and GM Mike Chernoff were part of a group that inspected the left field grass at 7:30 p.m. before the postponement was announced 40 minutes later.
About three hours before the scheduled 6:40 a.m. start, violent thunderstorms hit the area and a tornado warning was issued, forcing stadium employees to take shelter in the stadium’s lower level.
A hallway connecting the Arizona dugout and the clubhouse was flooded.
The postponement delayed the debut of Diamondbacks left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez, who was making his season debut after being sidelined with a shoulder injury. Rodriquez will now start in Wednesday’s second game.
Rodriguez signed a four-year, $80 million contract with Arizona in December. He was expected to fill a large hole in the club’s starting rotation before experiencing shoulder discomfort during a spring training game in March.
He expected to miss just a few weeks, but ended up having an early setback in rehab and being sidelined for five months.
The rain also means the AL Central-leading Guardians will play two doubleheaders in three days, further taxing their pitching staff. Cleveland opens a four-game series against second-place Minnesota on Friday with a day-night doubleheader.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Diamondbacks: C Gabriel Moreno (left adductor strain) was placed on the 10-day injured list after being injured while running to first in Monday’s game. Moreno returned to Phoenix to be examined by the team’s medical staff. Rookie Adrian Del Castillo was recalled from Triple-A Reno to take his place.
Keepers: RHP Tanner Bibee (shoulder tightness) threw a bullpen session and then met with pitching coach Carl Willis and head coach Lonnie Soloff. It has not been determined when he will play his next game.
NEXT
Guardians RHP Ben Lively (10-6, 3.42 ERA) will start the opener with Carlos Carrasco (3-9, 5.53) pitching Game 2 for Cleveland. Arizona will start Brandon Pfaadt (5-6, 3.97) in the opener, followed by Rodriguez.
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