Rain is falling over Citizens Bank Park, and the Los Angeles Dodgers–Philadelphia Phillies game has yet to begin more than 20 minutes past its scheduled 6:40 p.m. EDT first pitch. Storms rolling through Philadelphia have already pushed one interleague matchup into Wednesday, raising the question of whether this one survives the night.
At 6:01 p.m., the Phillies announced the delay.
“ATTN FANS: Tonight’s game will begin in a delay. We expect conditions to improve and plan to play tonight’s game,” the tea posted on social media. “A Flash Flood Warning remains in effect for the area. Please do not travel until conditions are safe and you are able to do so.”
The delay comes with plenty of warning. Forecasts flagged Tuesday’s Citizens Bank Park slate as likely to be delayed or rained out, with rain chances sitting at 85 percent around first pitch, according to RotoWire. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts sounded optimistic hours earlier that the game would go off on schedule, even as the radar told a different story.
“Main line of storms has cleared out. Still lingering rain which likely causes a late start,” wrote sports meteorologist Kevin Roth. “Playing really hinges on this next batch fading out or staying light enough to play through. My guess is that it does exactly that and they squeeze in a game?”
| Los Angeles Dodgers | ||||
| Record: 63-38 | ||||
| SP: Justin Wrobleski (LHP) | 10-2 | 2.69 ERA | ||||
| # | Player | Pos | AVG | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shohei Ohtani | DH | .287 | .534 |
| 2 | Andy Pages | CF | .269 | .465 |
| 3 | Freddie Freeman | 1B | .285 | .474 |
| 4 | Max Muncy | 3B | .263 | .500 |
| 5 | Mookie Betts | SS | .237 | .431 |
| 6 | Kyle Tucker | RF | .240 | .367 |
| 7 | Tommy Edman | 2B | .354 | .519 |
| 8 | Alex Call | LF | .254 | .325 |
| 9 | Eliezer Alfonzo | C | .083 | .083 |
Zack Wheeler and a Soggy Citizens Bank Park
Zack Wheeler was lined up to take the mound for Philadelphia before the weather intervened, according to CLEATZ’s hourly forecast breakdown. Wind data out of South Philadelphia complicated the picture further. RotoWire‘s models had the breeze blowing out at 11 mph, a boost for hitters if the tarp ever comes off, while CLEATZ measured a stiffer wind blowing in from the northwest, which would work in Wheeler’s favor instead.
Either way, the rain is the bigger story. Hourly precipitation chances at Citizens Bank Park climbed as high as 92 percent shortly after first pitch, dipping only slightly as the evening wore on. Humidity hovered near 90 percent, thick, soupy air typical of a summer storm system parked over the Delaware Valley. Roberts, speaking before the weather closed in, indicated to reporters that he expected the Dodgers and Phillies to get the game in, according to a post from reports on social media.
| Philadelphia Phillies | ||||
| Record: 56-45 | ||||
| SP: Zack Wheeler (RHP) | 10-1 | 2.13 ERA | ||||
| # | Player | Pos | AVG | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trea Turner | SS | .246 | .396 |
| 2 | Kyle Schwarber | DH | .251 | .556 |
| 3 | Bryce Harper | 1B | .258 | .497 |
| 4 | Alec Bohm | 3B | .216 | .357 |
| 5 | Edmundo Sosa | LF | .224 | .368 |
| 6 | J.T. Realmuto | C | .215 | .347 |
| 7 | Brandon Marsh | RF | .293 | .482 |
| 8 | Derek Hill | CF | .255 | .453 |
| 9 | Bryson Stott | 2B | .251 | .397 |
A Rough Night Across the Northeast Corridor
Philadelphia was not the only city dealing with baseball-unfriendly skies Tuesday. The Pittsburgh Pirates-New York Yankees game at Yankee Stadium was already scrapped, with the Yankees announcing the postponement roughly five hours before first pitch and setting up a day-night doubleheader Wednesday, according to the Associated Press. That marks the Yankees’ second doubleheader in a four-day stretch after a rainout Saturday forced a twin bill against the Dodgers over the weekend.
Boston’s game against Baltimore at Fenway Park carried its own rain risk Tuesday, though it had not been postponed as of 7 p.m. A Dodgers-Phillies postponement would almost certainly mean a doubleheader later in the week, the same fix the Yankees and Pirates are living with now.
For the Dodgers, the depth of their pitching staff offers some insulation against a scrambled schedule. The Phillies, playing at home with a chance to protect their spot in a tight National League East race, have less margin for the fatigue a doubleheader tends to create down the stretch.
Nothing is official yet. Grounds crews at Citizens Bank Park remain on standby, and both clubs are watching the same radar as everyone else.
A formal delay announcement would trigger the usual scramble, such as bullpens shutting down warmups, broadcast crews filling airtime, fans under the concourse checking phones for updates. The Dodgers, wrapping up a stretch of cross-country travel, would prefer to avoid a late-night delay bleeding into an already compressed schedule.
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