Rain rolled into Philadelphia Wednesday, and now the tarp is down at Citizens Bank Park with the Washington Nationals and Philadelphia Phillies waiting out a delay before their scheduled 6:40 p.m. first pitch.
At about 6:18, the Phillies announced that the game would be delayed. The club now planned for a 7:05 first-pitch time. According to Phillies Beisbol Network, rain has stopped by 3:25 and the tarp was removed from the field.
Philadelphia is riding a four-game winning streak and pushing for wild-card positioning, while Washington has dropped seven straight, meaning every inning lost to weather carries different stakes for each side tonight.
Grounds crew members had the tarp on the field with rain already falling at 3:20 p.m., according to Metro Philly reporter Cory Nidoh. A separate post from Spencer McKercher of NBC Sports Philadelphia showed Nationals players caught out in a heavy shower as the tarp went down just before 5 p.m.
| WASHINGTON NATIONALS STARTING LINEUP | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP: Jake Irvin (RHP, #27) • 2-5, 5.56 ERA, 59 K | ||||||||
| August 5, 2026 • Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA • 6:40 PM EDT | ||||||||
| # | Player | Pos | B | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS |
| 1 | CJ Abrams | SS | L | 28 | 85 | 20 | .286 | .911 |
| 2 | Abimelec Ortiz | 1B | L | 1 | 1 | 0 | .333 | 1.333 |
| 3 | Dylan Crews | RF | R | 9 | 25 | 7 | .222 | .679 |
| 4 | Daylen Lile | LF | L | 14 | 56 | 11 | .246 | .715 |
| 5 | Keibert Ruiz | C | S | 7 | 36 | 2 | .265 | .733 |
| 6 | José Tena | DH | L | 5 | 20 | 3 | .239 | .696 |
| 7 | Nasim Nuñez | 2B | S | 1 | 31 | 40 | .238 | .600 |
| 8 | Jorbit Vivas | 3B | L | 3 | 18 | 0 | .237 | .651 |
| 9 | Jacob Young | CF | R | 9 | 38 | 13 | .233 | .676 |
| Lineups subject to change. | ||||||||
Storms Threaten Citizens Bank Park Into the Evening
Philadelphia is under a flash flood warning running into the evening, according to AccuWeather, with humid conditions producing morning showers followed by heavy afternoon thunderstorms. The high is forecast at 85 degrees with a RealFeel near 97 and a full day of rain chances.
The Nationals-Phillies game carries a moderate delay risk with a 60 percent chance of precipitation after 4 p.m. and up to three-quarters of an inch of rain possible, according to DraftKings Network. That outlook notes storm activity may still be winding down by first pitch, with the evening chance dropping toward 30 percent, making a brief early delay more likely than a full postponement.
| PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES STARTING LINEUP | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP: Andrew Painter (RHP, #24) • 1-8, 6.72 ERA, 59 K | ||||||||
| August 5, 2026 • Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA • 6:40 PM EDT | ||||||||
| # | Player | Pos | B | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS |
| 1 | Kyle Schwarber | DH | L | 33 | 63 | 2 | .243 | .888 |
| 2 | Trea Turner | SS | R | 16 | 44 | 17 | .252 | .704 |
| 3 | Bryce Harper | RF | L | 24 | 68 | 6 | .254 | .860 |
| 4 | Luis Arraez | 2B | L | 4 | 45 | 10 | .325 | .804 |
| 5 | Alec Bohm | 1B | R | 13 | 61 | 2 | .227 | .645 |
| 6 | Brandon Marsh | LF | L | 16 | 50 | 10 | .279 | .768 |
| 7 | J.T. Realmuto | C | R | 8 | 37 | 3 | .222 | .658 |
| 8 | Bryson Stott | 3B | L | 8 | 50 | 19 | .255 | .730 |
| 9 | Justin Crawford | CF | L | 2 | 27 | 15 | .264 | .655 |
| Lineups subject to change. | ||||||||
What a Delay Means for the Nationals and Phillies
The home team is the sole judge of whether a game starts or is delayed on account of weather, according to Baseball Rules Academy. Once play begins, that authority shifts to the umpire crew, which can halt the game for unsafe conditions.
A game becomes official once the visiting team has made 15 outs while trailing, or the home team has made 15 outs regardless of score, according to MLB.com‘s glossary entry on regulation games. Anything terminated before that threshold becomes a suspended game, picked up later from the point of stoppage rather than replayed from scratch.
A delay would disrupt the entrances of both scheduled starters. Nationals right-hander Jake Irvin takes a 2-5 record and 5.56 ERA into the outing, while Phillies right-hander Andrew Painter has struggled to a 1-8 mark and 6.72 ERA this season. Either pitcher’s pitch count and rhythm could be affected if the delay stretches on or forces an early hook.
Philadelphia sits second in the National League East at 61-53, seven and a half games behind Atlanta, and just beat Washington 5-0 on Tuesday as part of its current streak, according to a Wednesday baseball glance from The Associated Press. The Nationals sit fourth in the division at 55-60, 14 games back, with their skid showing no signs of stopping. Philadelphia leads this season’s series against Washington and will look to add to that margin once the weather clears.
The club has not announced a postponement, and the forecast trend favors a resumption before the night is over, even if the revised 7:05 start time gets pushed back again.
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