WASHINGTON — On a long day at Nationals Park, both teams avoided decisions.
Thousands of fans who stuck around through hours of a rain delay instead took the loss.
The Mets-Nationals game was suspended due to what the Nationals called “inclement weather” long after rain had stopped Saturday. The teams will play a split-admission doubleheader Sunday, with the continuation of Saturday’s game beginning at 12:35 p.m., and the second game starting at 4:35 p.m.
The first game will start in the top of the third inning, with the Mets at bat and the Nationals leading, 1-0.
The game, which began in a driving rain at 4:05 p.m., continued until it was delayed at 4:43 p.m., when there was significant precipitation build-up on the right side of the infield.
No updates were given until the postponement announcement was made nearly four hours later, at 8:38 p.m.
Mets fans boo after the game against the Nationals was suspended after a nearly four-hour rain delay due to “inclement weather.” APThousands of fans remained, and thousands of fans booed.
“They kept getting a report that it was going to stop,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said, asked why the game started in the first place. “And it kept moving in and filling in right behind it.”
By the time the game was officially postponed, no rain had fallen for at least an hour, the tarp had long been removed from the field, and the grounds crew had put significant work into the infield.
The Mets-Nationals game was suspended after a nearly four-hour rain delay in which fans weren’t given any notification until the decision was made. Getty ImagesShortly before 7 p.m., the grounds crew removed the tarp from the infield and had begun working on getting it off the left-field grass when the workers stopped. Crew chief Paul Emmel and Nationals manager Dave Martinez talked between first and second base and soon were joined by Showalter, who seemed to be inspecting the dirt.
A few minutes later, the tarp was placed back on the infield. And a few minutes after that, the tarp was, finally, taken off the field. The grounds crew then worked on the field until the game was called, more than an hour later. According to Showalter, the field was unplayable.
“This is a good field, good facility and a really good grounds crew,” Showalter said. “They tried everything to get it playable, but there’s a safety issue there, too. I feel bad for the fans.”
The Nationals’ grounds crew worked hard to get the field back in shape to be played on before the decision was made to suspend the game. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con“Let’s play baseball” cheers rang out at 8:10 p.m. from the fans who remained, greatly outnumbering the zero in the dugouts.
When the game was called, the Mets had Daniel Vogelbach on third base and Michael Perez on second with one out. On the mound was Nationals pitcher Trevor Williams, who tried to stay warm through the delay with simulated innings in the bullpen before he eventually gave up.
Some hearty fans waited out the long rain delay hoping the game would resume, but that was not to be. APAccording to Showalter, the decision to postpone the game was jointly made by both teams and the umpires.
“They told us to play, we played,” Showalter said. “The weather report — we thought we’d be able to get it in, and the weather changed.”
