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The playoff opener between the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees was suspended because of rain in the second inning Friday night, wiping out the ace of each pitching staff for a few days.
Justin Verlander started for Detroit against CC Sabathia in a highly anticipated matchup between two of the game’s best pitchers. The score was tied at 1 in the middle of the second inning when play was halted.
According to a rule adopted by Major League Baseball after rain and snow wreaked havoc with the 2008 World Series, the game is not postponed. So it will pick up tonight at the point of suspension – weather permitting – with the Yankees coming to bat in the second inning.
The forecast calls for rain through late tonight.
Neither ace is scheduled to pitch again until at least Game 3 on Monday, likely limiting both to one start each even if the best-of-five American League series goes the distance.
“It’s definitely disappointing,” Sabathia said. “It looked like it was going to be a good game.”
Instead, what was already a wild week for baseball became a wet one, too.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi said rookie right-hander Ivan Nova will be on the mound when the game resumes at 5:37 p.m. PDT today. He had been slated to go in Game 2, which was moved back to Sunday, a scheduled day off in the series.
MLB said there will not be a doubleheader during the series.
“Just had a nice bullpen in front of half of America today,” Verlander said. “It was a little disappointing. Now I’ve got a start Monday to look forward to, start getting prepared for that.”
Former Seattle Mariners ace Freddy Garcia will get the ball in the second game for New York instead of Game 3, Girardi said, adding that he wasn’t sure yet when Sabathia would go again.
“I want the ball as much as possible,” Sabathia said.
The big left-hander added that he would make his pitch to Girardi to start on Sunday, but the manager said: “It’s not the right thing to do.”
Doug Fister, the Tigers’ scheduled starter for Game 2, will pitch when Game 1 resumes. Max Scherzer was moved up from Game 3 to Game 2 and Verlander will start Game 3 on Monday.
“This is not a big deal. Everybody does the best they can. Everybody is kind of scurrying around right now,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. “There’s no sense getting excited.
“I don’t worry about stuff like that. I think when the manager makes a big deal about something like that, it affects the players. It is what it is. Good lord, it rained. So what?” he said.
Verlander and Fister are both right-handed. But the Tigers fielded a lineup Friday night that was stacked with right-handed hitters against Sabathia. Now that same group will have to remain in the game, at least at first, against Nova.
“That’s the one little dilemma probably, but it will work out,” Leyland said.
Delmon Young homered for the Tigers and Alex Rodriguez had an RBI groundout, both in the first inning. All statistics from Friday night will count.
This was the first time a playoff game was suspended since MLB changed its rules in January 2009, assuring that any postseason game halted by rain after it started would be picked up from the point of suspension.
