The rubber match of the three game series between the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians has been postponed due to inclement weather.
After splitting the first two games of the season with the Cleveland Indians, it looks like the Boston Red Sox will have to settle for a series tie – at least for now.
Tonight’s Red Sox game has been postponed due to rain in Cleveland. No makeup game has been announced yet, but one possibility would be to slate it for a mutual off day on May 2, prior to when the Red Sox are scheduled to begin a series in Chicago. The problem with that plan is that it would mean a string of 34 days between April 15 and May 18 without an off day, which may not be allowed under the provisions of the CBA.
August 15 has also been suggested as a possible makeup day, but nothing is official yet. That would mean 23 consecutive days in August without an off day, which could lead to the MLBPA stepping in to help determine a makeup date.
Aug. 15 a tentative makeup date but that's not official.
— Jen McCaffrey (@jcmccaffrey) April 7, 2016
Opening Day was pushed back a day due to inclement weather conditions, altering ace David Price‘s schedule. He was originally supposed to pitch Saturday in Toronto on regular rest, which would have allowed the Red Sox to skip using a fifth starter through the first turn in the rotation. The rain out on Monday bumped him back a day, setting up Steven Wright to get his first start of the season on Saturday, but now Price will miss his former Blue Jays team altogether. He is now scheduled to start the home opener at Fenway Park on Monday.
Anyone looking for last minute tickets for the home opener now has a little added incentive to play hooky from work or school to take in the afternoon game.
The Red Sox now head to Toronto for a three game weekend series against the reigning division champs. Joe Kelly, who was supposed to start today, will get the ball on Friday, followed by Rick Porcello and Steven Wright.
With a pair of games that were rained out in the first series of the season, MLB will need to reconsider having the Red Sox play games in early April in cold weather cities that could be affected by the weather. Considering there are two teams in this division that play in a dome, it shouldn’t be that complicated to avoid this scenario.