CHICAGO (AP) This time, the Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs never got on the field.
Sunday’s series finale was postponed by rain and rescheduled for May 14, setting up an unusual four-game set that begins in Chicago and finishes with three in Atlanta.
It also was wet, cold and windy on Saturday, but the teams played through the conditions and the Cubs rallied for a wild 14-10 victory over the Braves. When it was over, both sides were critical of the decision to play.
This was Atlanta’s only scheduled trip to Chicago.
”Driving out again, it was remarkably bad,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. ”It’s just the right thing to do. It’s not about just getting games in. You want to be able to play the game on a major league-caliber, championship-caliber level.
”Yesterday’s game, we were fortunate actually that it was played in its entirety, because that’s why we won that game, based on how badly the conditions were by the end of the game, et cetera. So we’ll take it, but I’m glad that the decision was made this way today.”
Five other major league games were postponed Sunday – White Sox at Twins, Angels at Royals, Blue Jays at Indians and the Yankees-Tigers doubleheader in Detroit – running the season total to 21. That is baseball’s highest number through the end of April since there were 26 in 2007.
It was the second postponement of the Cubs’ first homestand after their home opener against Pittsburgh was pushed back a day by snow.
”If it was up to me, no one would play north of Atlanta or east of Colorado in the first few weeks, but that’s not going to happen,” Braves reliever Peter Moylan said.
Saturday’s gametime temperature was 38 degrees, and there was a 24 mph wind and a steady mist. The temperature fell and the wind increased as the game progressed.
The Braves chased Jose Quintana in the third on their way to a 10-2 lead. But the Cubs went ahead to stay with nine runs in the eighth on just three hits, taking advantage of five walks, two hit batters, an error and a wild pitch.
The weather was the ”worst I’ve ever been in,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. ”When you went on the mound, it was 10 times worse than it was in the dugout and it was miserable in the dugout. I don’t know how they did it. The infielders were all plotting to shuffle the ball because they said they couldn’t throw it.”
Snitker said he will keep his rotation in order after Sunday’s rainout. That means Julio Teheran will pitch Monday against Philadelphia in the opener of a seven-game homestand.
Chicago also will stay in line, with Tyler Chatwood going for his first win with the Cubs in the opener of a three-game series against St. Louis. The Cubs also expect to have first baseman Anthony Rizzo back in the lineup Monday after he went on the disabled list with lower back tightness.
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