Game 3 of World Series in rain delay
October 31, 2009
PHILADELPHIA (AP)—Game 3 of the World Series between the Yankees and Phillieswas to start about 9:15 p.m. following a rain delay, the second consecutive yearwet weather affected the schedule in Philadelphia.
Andy Pettitte(notes) was set to pitch Saturday night for New York against fellowleft-hander Cole Hamels(notes) in a game that originally was slated for 7:57 p.m. Thegrounds crew came out to remove the tarp from the infield at 8:49 p.m., and thenew start time was announced moments later.
At that point, players filtered onto the field to warm up. There were stillsome puddles on the warning track.
Baseball wanted to avoid starting the game and then having to stop it. Theforecast for the rest of the night called for mostly clear skies.
Last season, Game 5 of the World Series between the Phillies and Tampa BayRays was suspended for two days because of rain. Once it resumed—in the sixthinning—the Phillies went on to a 4-3 victory that clinched the championship.
The messy ruckus led MLB to institute a rule in January stating that allpostseason games and regular-season tiebreakers must be played to theirconclusion.
Games that start would be suspended if they are called, regardless of howmany innings have been played or the score at the time. A suspended game isresumed and played to completion at the same site.
Last year’s Game 3 started at 10:06 p.m. because of rain and didn’t enduntil 1:47 a.m. It was the latest start in Series history.
Light rain began falling about 6:55 p.m. on Saturday as the Yankees weretaking batting practice on a warm evening. Once they were done, the rain gotheavier and the grounds crew rolled out the tarp to cover the infield.
